Louisville Water Team Member is also a Softball Champion

While the world focused on the Olympics, a Louisville Water employee competed in another international athletic competition.

Distribution Operations Supervisor Patrika Barlow is an outfielder with the USA Softball Women’s Slow Pitch National Team, which consists of 14 elite athletes from 10 different states. They competed in Oklahoma City in the July 25-27 Border Battle and Slow Pitch Showdown, an annual event that started in 2009 between USA Softball and the Canadian Slow Pitch National teams.

Barlow has played in the Border Battle every year since 2020. She has played softball since she was a kid.

“I have been around softball all my life,” she said. “My mom, aunts, and uncles all played, and I was always at the ballpark as a child. In my early teen years, my family was playing in a coed state tournament and [was] short a female player. My mom and the tournament director agreed to let me be a fill-in, as long as she signed a waiver for me. There I was, a little 14-year-old, playing with a bunch of adult men and women. That is where it all began. I have been playing this sport for almost 25 years now.”

In 2004, Barlow came from Barren County High School to play basketball at the University of Louisville. She was a standout point guard for four years and then switched to join the university’s softball team for her final season of athletic eligibility. UofL softball coach Sandy Pearsall described her as “a tremendous athlete with great speed, quickness, and power.”

Barlow said playing in the recent Border Battle was “an unbelievable feeling. Any time you are wearing USA across your chest and representing your country, it’s special! I was a part of something that was bigger than myself, and I’m grateful for such an amazing opportunity.”

A highlight of the experience was “getting that first hit against Canada,” she added. “Your nerves and adrenaline are so high, so once you get that hit you can just relax and have fun.”

The Women’s Slow Pitch National Team won their 2024 Border Battle. According to USA Softball, “Solid at-bats and a strong defensive showing helped the U.S. WSPNT claim the program’s fifth-consecutive Border Battle title as the Eagles outscored Canada 12-0 (five innings).”

Asked if there are any skills she’s learned from softball that she uses in her job at Louisville Water, Barlow said, “Absolutely — teamwork and communication. In order to be successful, you must learn to play/work together with different people you are not necessarily familiar with. You put whatever differences and personalities aside to achieve a common goal. And when there is confusion or issues, you communicate through any adversities you may be facing as a team. It is very relatable to working at Louisville Water Company.”