The Case for North Hardin Softball!
Like Elizabethtown, North Hardin has been trying to make it’s case for a legitimate contender in the 5th Region race. It has been quite some time since the Lady Trojans have been thought of as one and quite frankly at one time they were one of the top teams in the state until just recently when everything began to change along with the landscape in the 17th District. Their two 3rd place finishes in state tournament action in 2006 and 2009 do seem like a long time ago and their surprise play in the 2017 season has been quite pleasant if not for what happened the last several seasons.
Since longtime coach Donnie Baker stepped down, the North Hardin softball team has been in a state of flux with four different coaches in three seasons. After Rodney Chancey piloted the team to the first round of the Region Tournament in his only season (2015), his sudden departure saw longtime assistant coach Bob Mahanna assume the coach role and he weathered a nightmare season winning just 5-games during the regular season while the team suffered injuries, inconsistent pitching and a multitude of fielding errors. Despite that they managed to win the semi-finals of the District Tournament and were eliminated in the first round of the 5th Region Tournament.
This season has been even stranger with a new head coach who never made it to the first game and the hiring of Brady Southwood. The team lost only one senior (shortstop Shelby Peace), but several starters did not return (outfielder Kara Bailey and power hitter Joella Castillo) and many saw gloom and doom for this team.
Surprise! Surprise as the Lady Trojans won 15-games and showed a flair for coming from behind against teams like Grayson County and Bethlehem. Just as surprising is who has picked up the slack as the team has been led by a group of eighth-graders, freshman and sophomores. Middle-school catcher Arianna Hill has done a fine job behind the plate and has a strong arm. 8th grader Emma Corder has started some at second base and has played well, while sophomore Alexis Horn has stayed healthy this season and has played good defensively while hitting the ball well too. Outfielder Danielle Thompson has showed no signs of being a sophomore and has run everything down as has fellow sophomore Lakyn Miller. 8th grader Cassie Muse has starred at short and second and has a strong bat. The seniors have also stepped up as pitchers Brooke Mahanna and Taylor Walters have been more consistent as has first baseman Kayla Reed, who had developed a strong bat and Sydney Coleman is having a strong year as well.
The Lady Trojans have discovered that winning has been contagious as they matched their win total (6-wins) from last season by April 7th. Now everything comes down to another semi-final game against Elizabethtown. So far the two teams have proven that regular season records are meaningless as the Lady Panthers have dominated North the last two seasons until the playoffs.
So tonight’s game should be plenty interesting as both teams want to extend their season and North Hardin would like to give their new coach his first playoff win as well.
