Verona standout takes part in All-Star festivities

This spring, Verona’s Emma Kleinsek started off her Wildcats softball career with a bang. The 14-year-old batted .582 with seven home runs. 

This summer, Kleinsek switches diamonds to face a new challenge. Monday, she heads to Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark to take part in MLB’s Pitch, Hit and Run national finals. 

It took a lot to get to this point. Kleinsek won two rounds of competitions in La Crosse, followed by another round at Miller Park.  Later, while watching MLB Network, Kleinsek discovered she scored in the nation’s top three and was headed to Cincinnati for the national finals. 

“There was my name saying I was going to go to Cincinnati, so that was exciting.”

After Monday’s competition at Great American Ballpark, participants get to shag balls during the evening’s Home Run Derby and attend Tuesday’s All-Star Game. 

More than 400,000 kids at more than 4,000 locations took part in the Pitch, Hit and Run competition. The top three from each age group gets to compete at the national finals.