Reprinted with permission of University of Jamestown Athletics
Few, if any, players have had as much impact on the Jamestown University Jimmie softball program as Kelli “Dewey” Duvall. During her four years at Jamestown, Duvall set Jimmie career marks for at-bats (622), hits (252), runs (161), doubles (47), triples (20), home runs (21), runs batted in (163), bases on balls (41), and batting average (.405).
Following a standout career at Mount Si High School in Snoqualmie, Duvall made the 1,300-mile journey to Jamestown, N.D., and instantly made her presence known.
She led the Jimmies with a .362 batting average and posted team-highs in at-bats, runs, and hits while being named to the North Dakota Collegiate Athletic Conference (NDCAC) first team.
In 2001, Duvall showed her freshman season was no fluke, picking right up where she left off the previous season. She again led the Jimmies in hitting, finishing with a .396 average, and was the team leader in at-bats, hits, runs batted in, doubles, triples, home runs, bases on balls, and on-base percentage. Duvall earned Dakota Athletic Conference (DAC) first team honors and was named to the All-Region III team.
Her junior season saw the Jimmies finish second in the DAC in 2002 with a 30-15 record and she was a catalyst to the team’s success. She batted a career-high .397 and was second on the team in hits and runs batted in.
Duvall capped off her season with a third consecutive first-team DAC selection, back-to-back selections to the All-Region III team, and also earned DAC Scholar-Athlete honors.
As a senior in 2003, she registered what is perhaps the finest season by a Jimmie offensive player in school history. In helping Jamestown to a school-record 41 wins, Duvall set single-season records for runs (66), hits (86), doubles (20), triples (7), home runs (13), runs batted in (70), and batting average (.448). She was a first-team DAC selection, Player of the Year, and was named to the All-Region III for a third time.
Duvall’s graduating class of 2003 posted an overall four-year record of 120-66, good for a .645 winning percentage, which is the highest for any Jamestown softball class since 2000. The Jimmies’ 71 wins in the 2003 and 2004 seasons is the most by any Jimmie team in a two-year span.
Post-college career
Following her career, Duvall served as an assistant coach for the 2004 Jimmie team, then the following year, as a graduate assistant softball coach at Lakeland College.
While in Jamestown, she worked at the Anne Carlsen Center for about five years. She tried out for the National Pro Fastpitch League and was invited to spring training by the Arizona Heat; unfortunately while pitching batting practice, she took a line drive to her knee cap and suffered a fracture.
In 2009 she returned home to Washington and took a position with the Snoqualmie Valley School District, working in the special education classrooms. Despite having her hopes of playing professionally dashed, Dewey’s competitive drive still remained, and she quickly joined an adult softball team.
She was married in September 2015 and is the mother of a baby girl.
Looking back on her career, Duvall recalls fondly the time she spent with her fellow Jimmies.
“I really can’t say enough about my teammates, they are definitely friends for life!” she said.
“Spending day in and day out with them, facing tough practices and games together, you really start to rely on them and you are able to count on each other for anything you might need…for that I’m forever grateful. It’s a bond that can never be broken.”
One of the many life lessons she learned at Jamestown still holds true for her today.
“I learned you don’t have to be the best to beat the best. It’s not about having the newest bats or better equipment, you just need a group of hardworking ladies that stick together, have each other backs and push each other to work harder. Once a Jimmie, always a Jimmie.”
Thirteen years after playing her last game, Duvall still is the Jimmies’ career leader in triples and is second in at-bats, hits, runs, and runs batted in; third in doubles; fourth in home runs; fifth in bases on balls; and seventh in batting average.
