Her socks should be brown so the dirt is not so obvious. Her pants might as well be green because of the grass stains, which were a nice touch for a game on St. Patrick’s Day. Putting a bandaid on a skinned knee is a waste because it will not survive the next time she slides to steal a base or score a run.
Karly Sampson’s uniform got a fresh coat of green Friday before Will C. Wood High hosted Pioneer. The senior center fielder prepared for the game by catching flyballs along with the other outfielders. When one ball began to descend before reaching Sampson, she refused to let it land as it pleased.
Sampson dove across the grass and caught the ball without being separated from her sunglasses or the Cal Poly Humboldt bandana she has turned into a headband. The Wildcats could have used a few plays like that in the game. They squandered a 5-0 lead and lost 8-7 after the Patriots rallied for four runs in the seventh inning.
Sampson laughed when asked if she is teased by other players for being so diminutive, “When it’s windy, they always ask me if I’m going to get blown away,” she joked. “(Teasing) is OK with me. I think it’s hilarious. I just have to prove them wrong. That’s my motivation. I don’t have any limits.”
The headband provides a glimpse of Sampson’s future. She will attend Cal Poly Humboldt and play softball. Her hustle and grit caught the eyes of college coaches willing to overlook Sampson’s size. Sampson has been overlooked at least 59 times. That is her height in inches. She is 4-foot-11.
Playing basketball beyond elementary school would have been too tall a task. Sampson no longer plays soccer in order to focus on softball. Height is not a prerequisite for flag football, so she plays running back for the Wildcats. With games on synthetic turf fields, her football socks are always pristine.
“It’s so funny. I dream of being 5 foot or ever taller than 5 foot,” quipped Sampson, who does not believe a request for one inch is asking for too much. “I don’t let my height define me in the game. I have to rely on my speed. I have to go my hardest. I have to open up and unlock that next level.”
Sampson’s .361 batting average is a product of her ability to bunt for hits even when the opposing team expects it. Sampson also knows what to expect. The first baseman, third baseman or both will charge toward the plate to discourage Sampson from bunting or be in an ideal position to field one.
Whatever they try rarely works. Even when the bunt is fielded cleanly, the throw to first base had better be a laser beam to have any chance of getting an out. And if the throw happens to get past whoever is covering first, Sampson could very well be at third base by the time the ball is retrieved.
Sampson hopes her final season in blue and gold will end better than the first three. The Wildcats finished above .500 just once in the Monticello Empire League (8-7 in 2024) and once in a season (13-10 in 2025) since she joined the team. Wood was also 0-3 in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs.
Wood is 1-2 in the MEL and on the verge of becoming an also-ran yet again. Hosting Vacaville on Wednesday will be another test because the Bulldogs beat Pioneer 8-1 last Monday. Vacaville and Pioneer are both 3-2. The marquee game on Wednesday is Rodriguez (3-1) playing at Vanden (5-0).
This season boils down to “the next game, the next at-bat and the next play” for the Wildcats, Sampson said. “I don’t want (success) just for myself. Obviously it’s a team sport. We’re doing this for each other.”
