Lady Pats open with victory
March 29, 2023 at 6:52 p.m.
The Union County girls softball team picked right up from last year's success by winning the 2023 season opener at New Castle last Wednesday, 8-4.
Junior AnnaLea Adams, an Auburn University commit, swatted three hits including a home run and double; she drove in two runs. Senior Shelby Hill, a future Thomas More University Saint, mirrored her teammate by banging home three runs on a two-base hit and dinger.
Sophomores Ally Gray and Harly Pilgrim, along with junior Bailey Mathews, each had one hit and one run batted in. Junior Whitney King's single made it a 9-hit performance overall. Adams scored four times, freshman courtesy runner Natalie Long twice and Gray and Hill once each. Adams snagged two bases on two attempts.
Mathews pitched a complete game for the victory, allowing two earned runs on four bases on balls with nine strikeouts. New Castle got to her for four extra-base hits.
UC visits Cowan Saturday for 11 a.m. first pitch. North Decatur comes to Liberty Tuesday afternoon.
The Lady Patriots will be looking to return to the regional again this season after a one-run loss in the regional championship a season ago to Eastern Hancock. UC is a mainstay atop the TEC going 8-0 in conference games over the last seasons and haven't lost a TEC game since 2018. UC should be right there again this year with Mathews back for her junior season. The Lady Pats will have a reliable number one starter; Mathews was 6-0 last season filling in behind Chloe Greene. Kyleigh Payne, another junior, will see more time in the circle this year after pitching in three games last season.
UC's offense is led by Adams, whose 11 home runs a season ago were tops in the TEC. Her 15-home run freshman season is the single season record for UC, and her dinger last Wednesday gave her 27 for her career. She will likely shatter most of the hitting records for UC this season. Another solid bat coming back is Hill, who was a .407 hitter last season with five dingers, earning herself an All-Conference nod as well. Hill will make for a nice one-two punch with Adams, much like Adams and Sophia Knock had the last two seasons for the Lady Pats.
With the offensive firepower scoring won't be a problem for UC this year, and if the pitching stays consistent, another 8-0 TEC sweep and a return to the regional are very much within reach for this year's Lady Patriots.
Written by Will Fehlinger, Sports Editor & Chris Louden, Staff Writer
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The Union County girls softball team picked right up from last year's success by winning the 2023 season opener at New Castle last Wednesday, 8-4.
Junior AnnaLea Adams, an Auburn University commit, swatted three hits including a home run and double; she drove in two runs. Senior Shelby Hill, a future Thomas More University Saint, mirrored her teammate by banging home three runs on a two-base hit and dinger.
Sophomores Ally Gray and Harly Pilgrim, along with junior Bailey Mathews, each had one hit and one run batted in. Junior Whitney King's single made it a 9-hit performance overall. Adams scored four times, freshman courtesy runner Natalie Long twice and Gray and Hill once each. Adams snagged two bases on two attempts.
Mathews pitched a complete game for the victory, allowing two earned runs on four bases on balls with nine strikeouts. New Castle got to her for four extra-base hits.
UC visits Cowan Saturday for 11 a.m. first pitch. North Decatur comes to Liberty Tuesday afternoon.
The Lady Patriots will be looking to return to the regional again this season after a one-run loss in the regional championship a season ago to Eastern Hancock. UC is a mainstay atop the TEC going 8-0 in conference games over the last seasons and haven't lost a TEC game since 2018. UC should be right there again this year with Mathews back for her junior season. The Lady Pats will have a reliable number one starter; Mathews was 6-0 last season filling in behind Chloe Greene. Kyleigh Payne, another junior, will see more time in the circle this year after pitching in three games last season.
UC's offense is led by Adams, whose 11 home runs a season ago were tops in the TEC. Her 15-home run freshman season is the single season record for UC, and her dinger last Wednesday gave her 27 for her career. She will likely shatter most of the hitting records for UC this season. Another solid bat coming back is Hill, who was a .407 hitter last season with five dingers, earning herself an All-Conference nod as well. Hill will make for a nice one-two punch with Adams, much like Adams and Sophia Knock had the last two seasons for the Lady Pats.
With the offensive firepower scoring won't be a problem for UC this year, and if the pitching stays consistent, another 8-0 TEC sweep and a return to the regional are very much within reach for this year's Lady Patriots.
Written by Will Fehlinger, Sports Editor & Chris Louden, Staff Writer