Lady Dukes Fastpitch Organization:
Envey Duran & Gabriella Shadek - Lady Dukes Gold Torres 16U
Field Commanders is a recurring series in which we pop the flares on elite Catchers destined for greatness. The Field Commanders who relay orders from the Dugout Generals and positions the troops for battle, while calling airstrikes to protect home at all cost and firing lasers with pinpoint accuracy to keep the enemies from advancing. Of all positions, the Catcher has to think the most like the coaches and has to be both physically and mentally tough. Today, we are honored to spotlight not only one Field Commander but two on the same team!
Name: Envey Duran
Hometown: Bayonne, New Jersey
Grad Year: 2025
Travel Team: Lady Dukes Gold Torres 16U
High School: Weehawken HS
Positions: Catcher/Third Base
Height: 5’ 5”
Overhand: 63 mph
Exit Velocity off Tee: 71 mph
Pop time: 1.65
Email: Enveyduran@gmail.com
Twitter: @duranenvey
Who are you? I’m Envey Duran and I like to be humble, good hearted, and a passionate athlete.
How does it feel to be considered one of the most dominant elite catching prospects in the 2025 class? It feels good because I feel like all my hard work is just starting to payoff.
What are your greatest strengths as a softball player? Positive attitude & team first mentality.
What are your most recent stats? This past fall I batted .395 with 17 Runs Batted In (RBIs) and a .483 On Base Percentage (OBP). Defensively, behind the plate I threw out 5 runners.
Envey Duran with the framework
You’re an outstanding hitter that your coaches want in the lineup. How does that affect your playing time as a Catcher? It doesn’t really affect me as a catcher. When I’m behind the plate I have a job to do and when I’m at the plate I have to produce for my team also.
How does Head Coach Juan Torres challenge you and Gabriella Shadek to be better and push each other? Coach Torres always talks about a competitive healthy competition. Gabby Shadek and I are both talented players and we both want to be the best we can for the team. Coach Torres puts us together to push each other and tells us we run the show.
Envey Duran making sure the umpire's job is easy to call strikes
How does it feel to play with another Elite 2025 Catcher Prospect like Gabriella Shadek?
It means everything to me because she brings out the best of me. She’s a great catcher and we make each other better.
Next is Gabriella Shadek:
Name: Gabriella "Gabby" Shadek
Hometown: Kinnelon, New Jersey
Grad Year: 2025
Travel Team: Lady Dukes Gold Torres 16U
High School: Immaculate Heart Academy
Positions: Catcher/Third Base
Height: 5’ 8”
Overhand: 69 mph
Exit Velocity off Tee: 75 mph
Pop time: 1.68 (Premier Girls Fastpitch (PGF) Camp in California)
Email: GabriellaShadek2025@gmail.com
Twitter: @gabbyShadek2025
Who are you? I am multi-sport athlete and honor student who is driven to be better than I was yesterday in everything I do. I have been balancing playing multiple sports my entire life, but softball is and always will be my first love and the sport that I plan to play in college, if I am lucky enough to find the right academic/softball fit.
How does it feel to be considered one of the most dominant elite catching prospects in the 2025 class? It is exciting to be listed along with other great 2025 catchers and to be able to be labeled as one of the best in my graduating class. It is a true honor, as I never really thought about it before.
Gabriella Shadek with the freeze stick
What is your greatest strengths as a softball player? I feel my greatest strengths have to be my strong arm, ability to put the ball in play at bat and being able to play any position on the field other than pitcher.
What are your most recent offensive and defensive stats? What kind of hitter are you?
I am power hitter who hit 25 home runs last year between travel and middle school teams (19 on my Lady Dukes team) . I almost always put the bat to the ball, and have the ability to wait for my perfect pitch. I often get to a 2 strike count because I will foul off pitches I don’t like to get a better pitch. Below are both my Fall 2021 and Summer 2021 stats. I was nursing an injured shoulder in the Fall so I missed most of the season and it shows in my catching stats.
Fall 2021 BA OBP H 1B 2B 3B HR RBI R BB SO
0.517 0.595 15 9 3 0 3 17 12 7 3
INN PB SB SB-ATT CS CS% PIK CI
24.2 1 2 2-2 0 0 0 0
Summer 2021 BA OBP H 1B 2B 3B HR RBI R BB SO
0.447 0.505 38 22 5 4 7 30 17 11 9
INN PB SB SB-ATT CS CS% PIK CI
81.1 2 8 8-14 6 42.86 2 0
You’re an outstanding hitter that your coaches want in the lineup. How does that affect your playing time as a Catcher? When I am not behind the plate I am usually found at Third Base so I do not feel that being a good hitter really affects my catching time, if anything it helps my playing time.
Gabriella Shadek showing her three (3) Dinger balls from the Veterans Tribute Showcase; Side Note: God Bless Our Troops
How does Coach Torres Challenge you and Envey Duran to be better and push each other?
Coach Torres keeps it a friendly competition in practices that always push us to be better than we were yesterday. I think Envey and I work great as a team and don’t see it as a competition at all, as I never feel I need to compete against her only work with her.
How does it feel to play with another Elite 2025 Catcher prospect like Duran?
It is a great feeling knowing that the two of us together work as a team and support each other to keep us at the top of our games. I know whichever one of us is behind the plate the other has their back. I really have enjoyed playing with Envey this past year and feel she is the strongest catcher I have ever played with.
"Gabriella and Envey are both complete players behind the plate. They change the game and take away the run game. At the plate both hit for power to all fields. It’s a treat having these two on the same team and I’m very fortunate to have them both being unselfish and pushing each other. Both Envey and Gabby will go on to the next level and instantly make a college team much better. Having one Division 1 - Power 5 catcher prospect is great. I think I have two Power 5 catchers on the same team!"
-- Head Coach Juan Torres, Lady Dukes Gold Torres 16U
Twitter: @Ladydukesnj
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