Highland Community College Names Softball Coaches for the 2021-22 Season
Highland Community College is pleased to announce that Gregory Cary has been named the new Head... Read More
Scottie Softball Starts Strong
published March 24, 2014Scottie Softball Starts Strong
The Highland Community College softball team is off to another great start in the 2014 season. Currently, the Scotties are atop the Jayhawk Conference with a 15-1 record in Conference play, are 20-2 overall, and ranked fourth in the NJCAA poll. Offense has played a huge role in the Scotties blistering start. During Conference play, Highland has outscored the opponents 192-37 and have had four shutout victories.
As a team, the Scottie offense is fourth in the nation in homeruns and RBI’s, and sixth in runs and batting average. Leading the way for the Scottie offense is sophomore infielder Emma Hill (Rae, MO). Hill currently leads the nation in stolen bases with 40, and is fourth in the nation in batting average with .625. “Emma is the catalyst for our offense. She has hit safely in 18 of 22 games this spring. If she is getting on base, we score,” stated head coach Heidi Jordan. Returning NJCAA All-Americans Holly Wilmarth (Maryville, MO), and Kaley Pyles (Dekalb, MO) are also off to very good starts again this season. Wilmarth has belted 10 homeruns and accounted for 44 RBI’s, while Pyles has also hit 10 homeruns and has 35 RBI’s.
One of the biggest additions the Coach Jordan’s offense has been freshman Emily Clontz (Grapevine, TX). Clontz is off to a great start to her first season with a .464 batting average and has 33 RBI’s. “Emily plays a major part in our batting lineup. Everyone knows that Wilmarth and Pyle are going to hit. With Emily in the mix and doing well, it forces our opponents to throw to them more often.”
With all the offense that is taking place, Coach Jordan does not want people to forget about how well the pitching staff has performed this season. Scottie sophomores Paige Crawford (Salina), Taylor Hatfield (Mulvane), and Jasmine Stewart (Olathe) are leading a very good pitching staff. Crawford currently sits at 6-0 with a 1.08 ERA, while Hatfield is 4-0 with a 0.69 ERA and several shutout relief appearances. Highland also added freshmen Taylor Phillips (Ashland, MO) and Kate Smith (Wichita) to its pitching staff, and they have performed well. Phillips is 6-1 with a 2.03 ERA on the season, while Smith has shaken off a rough start and has had scoreless outings in four of her last five games. “I take a lot of pride in how well our pitchers perform on a daily basis. Our pitchers work very hard in the offseason to ensure they are performing at their highest level when we need them most,” Jordan concluded.
