Antioch’s Eden Echevarria likes to play music. The nationally ranked Wisconsin recruit can play softball too.

Music has been prominent throughout Eden Echevarria’s life.

The Antioch senior says her father, Saúl, has a recording studio of their home.

“I know tips on how to sing and play the piano, the guitar and the drums,” Eden Echevarria said. “I’m fairly good at singing and enjoying the piano.

“I virtually sang the nationwide anthem during my sophomore yr. I didn’t seize the opportunity. I would possibly attempt it once more now that I’m older.”

Of course, Eden Echevarria is greatest known for seizing opportunities on the softball field. A Wisconsin recruit, she hit .377 with 9 house runs and 27 RBIs last season, when the Sequoits won the Class 3A third-place recreation, and she or he is likely considered one of the top-ranked players in the country.

Her father mentioned she was a natural in both music and softball from a young age.

“There’s at all times something laying around my home to play,” Saúl Echevarria mentioned. “Eden has grown up having instruments at her disposal.

“She’s by no means taken formal lessons in music. Everything she has done musically has been by ear. Softball has been extra formal.”

Softball and music got here together, in a way, when Eden Echevarria spent a few days final June enjoying in the Colorado Triple Crown International Challenge. She was considered one of just two gamers from the Midwest on Team Puerto Rico, which gained the silver medal within the 16U division.

Eden Echevarria, whose grandparents have been born in Puerto Rico, mentioned she cherished bonding with teammates from around the country who share a heritage and a ardour for softball. Her father was joyful to witness it.

“I was over the moon to see her play,” mentioned Saúl Echevarria, who coached her for several years. “It was so emotional. It was a good time for me to take a seat again and watch her play.

“Being a musician and a Puerto Rican, I went to Home Depot and got a bunch of buckets and drumsticks and led the crowd. I gave a bunch out to the group. It was nearly pitch-by-pitch drumming occurring. I assume she was happy with it. A lot of her teammates appeared around. This is what baseball/softball is about. It was a studying moment for them, a second to absorb satisfaction for your culture.”

Eden Echevarria mentioned it was a strong expertise.

“It actually was the 2 issues I love essentially the most coming collectively, and it felt exhilarating,” she mentioned. “It was really special for me. I had seen the World Baseball Classic games and the way Puerto Ricans supported their teams. The vitality was electrical, so to have skilled it firsthand was superb.”

Eden Echevarria, a leadoff hitter and versatile infielder/outfielder who was picked for the 3A all-state first team final yr, enters this season ranked No. 10 in the 2023 class by Perfect Game Softball. She is a captain for the Sequoits, who went 30-4 last season, received the Northern Lake County Conference title and beat Mahomet-Seymour 1-0 within the 3A third-place game behind then-sophomore ace Jacey Schuler, a Michigan State recruit.

Antioch coach Anthony Rocco, who loaded up the Sequoits’ schedule with elite groups to prepare Echevarria and her teammates for a run at the program’s first state championship, known as her “an explosive athlete.”

“She can play a number of positions and be a threat at the plate and as a base runner,” Rocco stated. “She’s super consistent and units the desk for us.”

Among the 5-foot-2 Echevarria’s strengths, she packs an unusual punch along with her swing. She hit 22 home runs over the previous two seasons.

“If you’ve the proper mechanics, you probably can generate power,” she mentioned. “I needed to put on weight, lift a lot and work on my fundamentals. I’m definitely the strongest I’ve ever been now.”

Her father joked that she is “a really huge person in a extremely small town and a brief body.”

Eden Echevarria acknowledged that gaining a nationwide popularity and helping Antioch emerge as a statewide energy have drawn some surprising attention in the community.

“I assume folks up to now year know my title in school,” she mentioned. “It’s principally classmates listening to about our accomplishments.

“About a month in the past at Culver’s, someone got here as much as me and said I was a great softball player. I don’t look like this large, highly effective softball player. It’s positively unusual having individuals come up to you.”

Bobby Narang is a contract reporter for the News-Sun.