Purvis Heading To Mississippi State

It was August 2016, and Sullivan's softball team was wrapping up the first week of practice.

The Lady Eagles were coming off an eighth straight district championship. Still, as they finished those early morning, humidity-free practices, there were more questions than answers.

Sullivan entered that fall with significant roster turnover and, most importantly, no obvious answer at starting pitcher.

Head coach Ashley Crump surveyed the arms that had shown up. She looked towards the field where practice was winding down. Asked about who would be leading the team in the circle, Crump couldn't commit. There were as many as five players she and her staff were eyeing. She checked off a few of the options. 

The last one she named carried some intrigue, but a broken foot had sidelined her. There was no timetable on when she would be available.

"We've heard some good things about Addison Purvis," she said.

Whoever said that wasn't lying.

Purvis went from being a mystery talent to defining an era of Lady Eagles softball. In four seasons, Purvis earned four all-state honors, was named Four Rivers Conference Player of the Year three times and led the Lady Eagles to two Class 3 runner-up finishes and one third-place finish.

In 2019, she signed to play softball at Mississippi State University. A devastating two-way player, Purvis was capable of dominating hitters from the circle and wrecking pitchers from the box. Her compact lefty swing with a sweet one-handed follow-through helped her hit .613 with a .690 on-base percentage and 1.151 slugging average in four seasons. She swatted 36 homers, 53 doubles, eight triples and drove in 163 runs.

In the circle, she struck out 845 batters across 525 innings with an ERA of 1.61.

As Purvis went, so did the Lady Eagles. She elevated them from third seed in districts to second place in state in 2016. 

With the team barreling towards state that fall, Crump would insist she didn't know the player Purvis would become.

"She had no clue, and I had no clue," said Purvis, who had only moved to Sullivan that year. She grew up in Illinois, moved to Fredericktown, and then Arnold before they settled in Sullivan. "I just knew I had to try hard."

After a sophomore campaign that saw her hit 13 home runs and collect 54 RBIs, she committed to play for Mississippi State. The 4,200-acre campus in Starkville drew her in after taking an unofficial visit. 

"I went to a bunch of camps and noticed they have a beautiful campus," said Purvis in November when she signed her letter of intent.

The team was receptive and welcomed her right away. 

"They acted like family when I was down there," she said.

Purvis said they liked her ability to pitch and hit. Though it's not common, Mississippi State would allow her an opportunity to do both. 

Purvis believes hitting is her strongest ability. Her father, Shannon, is a former collegiate baseball and soccer player and serves as her hitting coach. He joined the Sullivan staff in 2017, which she says she liked.

It was only after a switch to the other side of the batter's box that Purvis found her swing.

Originally a dancer, she took up softball on Shannon's advice when she was 10. 

"My dad started me out batting right-handed, but I couldn't touch the ball," she said. "He went inside and told my mom, 'this girl is never going to hit.'" 

Purvis moved to the left side of the box, and something clicked. She hasn't tried batting right-handed since and doesn't think she could hit.

"It feels awkward," she said.

While Shannon oversaw her hitting, she learned to pitch from a coach she had gone to since she was 10. Purvis said she throws a curveball, screwball, rise ball and changeup. The curve is her best, and she relies on it as an out pitch.

Purvis anchored the pitching staff during her four seasons at Sullivan, but the foot injury at the onset of her freshman season limited her. In her first six starts, she allowed 27 runs. In the next 16 games, she allowed 27 runs. 

"I was finally healthy," she said.

Another injury threatened to derail her senior season and potentially Sullivan's state hopes in 2019. In a game against Reeds Spring on Oct. 3, she injured her knee.

"I thought it was just a little tweak," Purvis said. 

It was severe enough to keep her out of the circle until a district game against Owensville on Oct. 17. She was brought in two record two outs.

Sullivan brought her back the next night against Pacific in the championship game. She came in relief in the first inning, walked two batters and threw a wild pitch. She came back out for the second inning with Sullivan down 2-1. Pacific had the heart of their lineup coming to bat. After Bella Walker's RBI single made it 3-1, Purvis faced Annie Mueller, who hit 40 home runs during her high school career. Purvis struck her out after a seven-pitch at-bat and settled in from there. Sullivan would go on to win 9-4 for their 12th straight district title. 

She estimated that she was around 90 percent healthy upon her return, which saw her carve up Mexico, St. Dominic, and Savannah on the way to the Class 3 state championship game against Helias. 

Though they fell short in winning a state title, Sullivan’s success with Purvis was unparalleled in program history. Now, she will attempt to jolt Mississippi State, no matter where they play her.