OKLAHOMA CITY – Tennessee sophomore Emma Clarke sometimes steps into the batter’s box carrying more than a bat.
Her competitive spirit and eagerness to be great have helped make her one of Tennessee’s most important players.
“Emma wants to do one thing: win,” said her uncle and former middle school and high school coach, Jimmy Greene.
It’s that drive that can occasionally make the game harder than it needs to be.
Whether from the dugout, the stands, or back home watching on television, her family can immediately spot the difference between the version of Emma that’s playing freely and the version trying to be perfect.
“My wife picks up on that very, very good,” her father, Ken Clarke, said.
For much of Emma’s softball career, that drive has fueled her success. At times, her family said, it has also fueled the tendency to overthink.
Elizabeth Clarke coached Emma during her younger travel-ball years before Greene took over throughout middle school and high school. Together, the three of them have spent years helping her navigate the mental side of the game.
“It’s more mental than drill instruction,” Ken said.
Greene sees it when Emma starts trying to solve every problem at once.
“She’s trying to break her swing down into 100 different pieces when it just needs to be about three,” he said.
But the eagerness to be great is a quality her head coach Karen Weekly admires.
Before the NCAA Tournament, Weekly described Emma as someone who wants to master everything she’s given, whether that’s becoming a better hitter, a stronger leader, or a more complete player.
“Everything you give her, she wants to do it right then and be really good at it right then,” Weekly said. “She wants to be great, she wants to be a great player, she wants to be a great leader.”
Now in her second season, Emma is learning to strike the balance.
When asked about the biggest difference between her freshman and sophomore seasons, Greene didn’t point to home runs, batting average, or defensive versatility.
“The confidence,” he said.
That confidence has become increasingly evident throughout Tennessee’s postseason run.
After Emma homered in the third inning of Tennessee’s 7-5 victory over Virginia in the Knoxville Regional, Weekly returned to a phrase she has used for years.
“She’s a beast, and it’s just bring the beast every day, like it’s in there, let it out, let it play,” Weekly said.
For Greene and Ken, the comments brought back a memory from Emma’s travel-ball days.
While attending a Tennessee camp, Emma stepped into a scrimmage with hundreds of players trying to make an impression.
Before the day began, Ken gave his daughter a simple challenge.
“You’ve got to do something special to be remembered.”
She did.
During the scrimmage, Emma launched a ball over the scoreboard, prompting Weekly to send a short message to her travel coach.
“Emma’s a beast.”
The phrase has followed her ever since, serving as a reminder of who she is when she’s playing free.
“Sweetie, I want you to be a beast more,” Greene said. “Don’t be so smart where you’re trying to study and analyze the game and be perfect. Just go play.”
That message has become easier to embrace as Emma has grown more comfortable in Tennessee’s program.
The confidence her family sees at the plate is the same confidence they saw years ago when she was the youngest player on an 8U team and older teammates naturally gravitated toward her. It’s the same confidence that led her to tell Greene, moments after Tennessee’s season ended at the Women’s College World Series last year, that the Lady Vols would be back.
After Tennessee’s season ended in Oklahoma City last year, Emma left Greene with a promise.
“Uncle Jimmy, we’re going back,” she told him.
A year later, Tennessee returned to the Women’s College World Series and opened with a victory over defending national champion Texas.
The biggest difference, according to her family, isn’t the stage.
It’s how she’s handling it.
“Now I think she’s appreciating it more. She’s enjoying it, and it’s like that feeling of, ‘Oh, I belong here. I’m ready. I’ve got this,'” Greene said.
Ken sees the same confidence.
“She knows she’s ready,” he said. “It’s just time to perform and show what she can do.”
Emma gets another opportunity to play free Saturday afternoon against Texas Tech.
