NEW PALESTINE — They say good things come in small packages.

That’s true when it comes to the Daily Reporter Hancock County Softball Athlete of the Year.

At 5-feet, 3-inches tall, New Palestine’s Aglaia Rudd isn’t the typical size you might expect from someone playing catcher at one of the top Class 4A softball programs in Indiana.

Maybe not, but she has all the tools and talent of an all-star at her position at any level.

Her numbers prove it.

Rudd hit .573 (55 of 96) in her senior season with five home runs, 14 doubles, two triples and 28 RBIs. She had a .611 on-base percentage, .916 slug and 1.528 OPS. Rudd fanned just one time in 113 plate appearances, after not striking out at all as a junior in 98.

Her fielding percentage was a perfect 1.000.

The outstanding season did not go unnoticed. Rudd was named first-team all-state and played in the Softball Coaches Association of Indiana North-South All-Star Classic. She was also selected All-Hoosier Heritage Conference.

“I’ve definitely had to deal with that my whole life,” Rudd said, with a laugh, of her size. “Especially in travel ball. You see all of these girls and they’re over 5-8 half of the time. I think it’s all about mechanics and how you use that and practice with that. Honestly, with me being a little shorter is to my advantage. I’m quicker and get to the ball quicker. Throwing from my knees and popping up, my height makes it easier to stay low. For blocking, I don’t have to raise too high, it’s easier for me, too.”

Small package?

According to New Palestine head coach Ed Marcum, his recently graduated standout is, “the whole package.’”

“She’s a phenomenal player and that’s in all areas,” Marcum said of Rudd. “It’s not just offensively. As far as a complete package, she’s certainly one of the best catchers I’ve ever coached. Blocking, framing, throwing runners out, a head for the game, it’s not just offensively. She’s the whole package, that’s for sure.”

Offensively, defensively and in the dugout and practice field, too.

If you ask Rudd, as much as she contributed on the field, she’s just as proud of what she gave as a teammate.

“My leadership and being there for my teammates,” Rudd said of the legacy she hopes to leave behind as a top player at a top program. “You can play all the games you want, but if you don’t have that connection on and off the field, it’s not going to be that fun for you.”

“The leadership, the defensive ability — I’ve never seen a catcher as good as her catching popups,” Marcum added. “She caught for us for three years and I never saw her miss one. She made a lot of spectacular ones that most catchers can’t find or get to. The whole thing, she works hard, she’s a great leader on the team, and just a great kid.”

The only noticeable drop in any of Rudd’s numbers came in RBIs. She had 48 as a junior and 28 as a senior, but that had to do with moving from the team’s No. 3 hitter to leadoff.

Looking to get a spark shortly after a two-game losing skid, Marcum moved Rudd up in the order.

Why not get the team’s best hitter who doesn’t strikeout the most at-bats.

“(Coach Marcum) called up the seniors and passed out the lineup card, I saw (the change) and looked up kind of funny and he looked back at me and gave me a wink. I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to do the best I can. I had to do whatever I could for my teammates.’”

In her first plate appearance as a leadoff hitter, against rival Mt. Vernon, Rudd laced a double to right-centerfield, helping get the Dragons started with an early 1-0 first-inning lead.

“What surprised me the most was moving her to leadoff and it didn’t effect her at all,” Marcum said. “It took away a little bit of her power and certainly cost her some RBI situations, but I just needed her to go to leadoff. And with (speedy) Jersi (Gross able to courtesy run for a catcher) it was like having two weapons in one. It kind of turned things around for us. We were struggling in that spot.

“She’s never led off before (in high school), so I thought it might effect her, but with her mentality, whatever the team needs she was ready to do. I saw her eyes (after she saw the lineup card), and she looked shock, then she just went up and just ripped a double.”

Rudd will play collegiately at Division I Purdue Fort Wayne.

She was more than OK that some of the bigger college programs didn’t heavily recruit her. She called PFW a perfect fit. It’s still a D-I program, just a smaller one, and close to home.

“Mostly, the bigger schools look for size,” Rudd said. “I didn’t really want to go super far or super big. You’re already doubling school on top of practicing and everything. I didn’t want it to consume all of my life and be a huge job for me. You’re already going to college for your degree. … Purdue Fort Wayne is not super big, it’s not super small, I think it’s perfect for me.”

Rudd plans to major in Business.

“So many college coaches, especially big-time college coaches, when they come to watch you play, I think, they look for either speed or size,” Marcum added. “I think Aglaia was a little bit overlooked. You look at her and you have no idea what kind of player she is until you see her day-in and day-out. The more you watch her, you’re in awe of her ability and what she’s able to accomplish. She’s not the prototypical big-time Division I recruit when you look at her. If coaches watch her play and watch with an open mind, I’d put her up against anybody. I watch a lot of big-time softball and go to a lot of big-time softball, and there are very few times I’ll watch a catcher and could say, ‘That kid is a whole lot better than Aglaia.’

“She can compete at that level. She’s excited about Purdue Fort Wayne and she wants to get her education. She was academic all-state, so obviously that’s important to her.”