Maris Huff finding her voice in final season with Niagara Wheatfield

SANBORN — Clink.

The sound of a bat connecting with enough force to send a ball over the outfield fence signaled Maris Huff’s arrival. She was just a seventh-grader, playing in her first varsity home game.

Talk about a statement.

Huff has been Niagara Wheatfield’s rock behind the plate for six seasons. And she carries a heavy bat wherever she goes, hitting .416 with nine home runs, 134 RBIs, 99 runs scored and 62 extra-base hits during her career.

She’s off to another hot start in the finale of her high school career, hitting .406 with 11 RBIs, four doubles and a home run.

While she does have an impressive resume statistically, that’s not what is important to Huff. The University at Buffalo commit cares about playing well but more than that she wants the team to win. She is looking as much for team success as she is at her own personal success.

And Niagara Wheatfield, despite being 6-4, has had a lot of team success, winning four Niagara Frontier League championships and reaching the Section VI semifinals five times during her career.

“She doesn’t play the game for accolades,” Niagara Wheatfield co-head coach Kevin Schucker said. “… I think she plays because she loves the game. She respects the competition and she plays for her teammates.”

Over that time, she has grown tremendously as both a person and a player. It has allowed her to find her role and find her voice as a player.

In Huff’s six years on the team, she has dealt with her share of individual and team struggles. But she has grown from it and continued to improve as a player. It is a growth that has seen her take her mental health seriously for her own sake and her team’s sake.

“I think softball has helped me mentally and physically,” Huff said. “I love working out to get stronger, to become a better player and also mentally. I think that even when you have a bad game, knowing that, ‘OK, next time I got it,’ I think my mental health and mental state has grown throughout my process.”

Since she first took over the catching duties as an eighth-grader, Schucker has entrusted Huff to call her own pitches. It is a skill that has been cultivated over many hours outside of practice.

Huff spends time outside of practice studying, she knows the game and she knows the opponents that the Falcons will be facing. It is a softball IQ that is constantly on display as a coach on the field.

“She’ll remember the players for each team, what they like, what they don’t like, what they can’t hit,” co-head coach Ali Gonyea said. “You hear her behind the plate the whole game today, cheering on her pitcher, telling her that she’s got her. There’s no doubt that she knows the game inside and out and knows what she’s up against every batter.”

Huff has the ability to go out to the mound and settle down her pitchers when they are in a tough spot and help them through it. She is always communicating to her teammates, helping them get in the proper positions and communicating instructions to them.