With her fourth and final high school softball season just getting underway, Mountain View High School senior Kodi Jean Allred  — who plays catcher and shortstop for the Green River Lady Wolves  — is looking to add to her impressive list of accomplishments and accolades with one final trip to the 4A State Softball Tournament in May.

While the Lady Wolves have struggled out of the gate (2-5, 0-2 in the 4A South), having dropped a pair of doubleheaders over the weekend to a couple of loaded teams out of Cheyenne  — No. 1-ranked East and No. 5-ranked Central  — there’s plenty of season left to get things headed in the right direction.

That said, Allred’s most important endeavor involving her team this season might just be something that’s happening off the field  — a passion project she’s spearheading called Hits Against Hunger, a food drive benefiting the Green River Food Bank.

“I wanted to start this program, because I know families can fall on hard times and sometimes need a little help, especially lately since food has gotten so expensive,” Allred said. “I believe in a strong and giving community, because when people do fall on those hard times, community donations can be a place to turn. And most of all, because it hurts my heart to know there are children with hungry tummies.”

Allred’s goal is to donate at least 100 food items by the end of the season. At each Lady Wolves home game, a bin adorned with a Hits Against Hunger sign will be set up for donations, and Allred said it’s not just limited to food items.

“People can donate non-perishable food items or hygiene products,” she explained. “It would be wonderful for any donation to be accepted, so if someone wants to donate money or a Walmart gift card, they are more than welcome to do so. For money or gift card donations, contact coaches or the Green River Wolves Softball Facebook page.”

The idea for Hits against Hunger is something Allred had been thinking about for a while, according to Green River head coach Mark Hyde.

“Kodi approached the coaching staff last year with this idea, and we all thought it was a great idea,” he said. “She is a great young lady. We did something different this year, and had players who wanted to be captains give speeches to the team. In her speech, she says she seeks first to serve, rather than be served. This is evident in her wanting to do the Hits Against Hunger food drive.”

A two-sport athlete during her high school career (she also played basketball for the Mountain View Lady Buffalos), Allred is a 3-time All-State and All-Conference selection for the Lady Wolves, and signed earlier this year to play D1 softball for the University of Montana Lady Grizzlies.

“When I start college this fall, I plan to ask my coaches and team if Hits Against Hunger is something Lady Griz Softball can do for Missoula,” Allred said.

Hyde said Allred’s desire to find a way to help her new community next season doesn’t surprise him a bit, nor does he doubt her work ethic will be second to none on the UM roster.

“Kodi is one of the hardest working players I’ve coached,” he said. “She came to me at the beginning of this year and said, ‘I need to increase my speed  — can we do more running power drills in practice?’ I’ve never had anyone ask me to run more in practice. That is the type of player she is. And on top of that, she cares about her team  — from new freshmen to seniors she has been around forever, she treats them all with love and respect.”

Allred’s dad Scott said his daughter has always been the type of kid that put the needs of others before her own, calling her, “a ray of sunshine wherever she goes, for everyone she meets.”

“She has always been the first in to do the hardest work, and the last to leave and clean up,” he said. “We couldn’t possibly be more proud of her. Her heart is so big, It’s not at all surprising to us that she would want to spearhead a program that helps people she’s never met.”

Scott and his wife Kodi (known as Momma Kodi to Kodi Jean’s Green River and Mountain View teammates) will have three kids playing D1 ball once Kodi Jean arrives in Missoula in the fall (oldest son Gus just made his debut for Northern Colorado last month, while middle son Hank will suit up for Alcorn State in the fall).

All three of the Allred kids have been taught the importance of giving back, and have embraced that in their lives, both on and off the field. As for the success they’ve achieved, the elder Allred said that’s all on them.

“All of the achievements and success our children have accomplished is the result of the hard work they have done themselves, with their own grit and determination,” Scott Allred said. “It’s all them. We are always so thankful that our kids turned out to be better human beings than we ever could have dreamed of being ourselves. I’ll take that as a win.”