Smitty is Angels' Double Play Girl

She bats right, she throws right and she's a "Smitty" alright.

Meet Barb Smith.

Smith plays a mean second base for the Angels of Grace softball team that competes in the Shelby Township Parks and Recreation Tuesday night women's league. She's a 20-year resident of Shelby Township, where she's raised two children and taught many others through the Utica Community Schools.

Smith played softball for years in recreational leagues when she was in her 20's and stopped when she and her husband started their family.  This is her third year playing with the Angels and she owes her renewed interest in the game to her friend and Angels manager, Linda Craik.

"One day I was out walking my daughter's dog and Linda called out to me asking if I wanted to play softball," said Smith. "I said yes but didn't receive a phone call for a while so I was kind of relieved. Then she called and here I am three years later."

"Barb is a good-hearted woman," Craik said. "At first she didn't want to play ball and now she's one of our best players. She's totally into it and it's so cool. Barb is definately a deserved Athlete of the Week."

"I'm a second baseman and my glove is stronger than my bat," said Smith. "If I could play every inning in the field, I would. I love my teammates, we are all out here just to have fun and an evening out."

During the fourth inning of Tuesday's game at , Smith dazzled the fans by catching a chest-high line drive and touching second base for an unassisted double play. The play prompted various hoots and hollars from the bleachers. 

"Barb is a very reliable second baseman," Angels of Grace coach Rolf Plumhoff said.  "She is our double play girl.  She always knows what to do with the ball when there are players on base and she always knows how many outs there are.  She's a ballplayer."

During the day, Smith keeps busy by working with autistic students in kindergarten through second grade for UCS.  Her junior daughter attends Oakland University and her son just left for college in Ohio.

"My kids are my life," said Smith, whose husband passed away seven years ago.  "I love to just hang out with them.  We were a big soccer family when the kids were growing up.  Both of them played travel soccer and my husband coached them when they were younger."   

She proudly wears her Angels' jersey with the name "Smitty" on the back.  It was her husband's nickname and it's hers now too.