For first-year Allen County-Scottsville Lady Patriot softball coach Robert Bunton, the sky is the limit for his Patriot fastpitch team this season. Bunton---named late last summer as the fifth coach in fastpitch softball history at AC-S---inherits a team loaded with solid pitching and offensive potential.
Leading the way for the Patriots will be senior Campbellsville University signee Ryley Whitney. The Lady Patriot catcher’s career has been impressive. Placed into the team’s catcher position as an eighth grader, Whitney has progressed defensively and offensively. Last year, Whitney batted .542 to help AC-S to a 20-12 record. Whitney also notched an on-base percentage of .615, recorded 64 hits, and finished the season with 44 RBI’s, 17 doubles, and a school-record 11 home runs. As a sophomore, Whitney batted .468, had 11 doubles, and eight home runs. Last season, Whitney was selected First Team All-State (Class 2A) by the Kentucky Softball Coaches Association. She also earned Region 4 All-Season First Team recognition. Whitney was also a Second Team All-State selection as a sophomore.
“Ryley is our leader,” coach Bunton explained. “She was thrown into the fire when she was in eighth grade. She has done great.”
Whitney’s senior teammates---RaeAnn Stafford, Kalee Skaggs, and Lara Reynolds---will also be key players this season. Stafford—known mainly for her defensive play at second base--- saw action in 30 games last season, finishing the season with 76 at-bats, 12 hits, and 13 runs scored.
“RaeAnn is the person that keeps this team together,” Bunton noted. “She motivates everybody. She plays second base and is one of the best kids I have ever been around.”
Skaggs gives AC-S a one-two punch that’s among the best in the state. Skaggs led the team in plate appearances (158), recorded 60 hits (second on the squad), led the squad in singles (40), hit 10 home runs, had three triples, and seven doubles. She finished the season hitting .417 with an on-base percentage of .462.
“Kalee is my field general in the outfield,” Bunton explained. “She is the one that keeps them in line; she is the glue to the outfield. She has a great bat, great glove, and is just an all-around great player.”
Reynolds saw limited action at the varsity level last year yet Bunton is expecting her to step up her game this season.
“Lara didn’t get a lot of playing time last year but that may change this year,” Bunton noted. “She has improved a lot and I’m looking for a lot from her. I’m looking for her and all my seniors to be the leaders for the younger girls. Our younger girls look up to the seniors.”
The four seniors will be joined by six juniors that gained valuable experience last year---and in the preceding year. Juniors include Jordan Anderson, Kassie Bullington, Alex Coleman, Kali Mutter, Kris-Anne Pardue, KaeLee Stafford, and Taylor Stamps.
Among the juniors with the most field experience is Taylor Stamps. She has appeared in 63 games over the course of the last two seasons. The outfielder and left-handed batter hit .352 last year, recorded 45 hits, scored 33 runs, and recorded 23 RBI’s. Stamps was second on the team in doubles (11). As a freshman, Stamps batted .329.
Bullington saw action in 29 games as a sophomore, hitting .296 and recording 16 hits in 61 plate appearances. Mutter played in 18 games and batted .368. KaeLee Stafford played in six varsity games while Coleman appeared in 10 games as a sophomore.
For Anderson, the season will mark a return from an injury last year---an injury that limited her to only eight games. However, the shortstop has experience, having appeared in 13 games as a freshman in 2015.
Pardue is one of four AC-S pitchers that could see action on the mound this season. Entering her fifth-year as a varsity player, Pardue brings solid pitching to the table. Last season, Pardue was the workhorse for the AC-S pitching staff. The junior threw 176.1 of the team’s 242.2 innings. Pardue finished the season with an ERA of 2.258, recorded 98 strikeouts and issued 40 walks. She closed the year with a record of 19-8 record. Offensively, Pardue had 10 hits in 55 plate appearances.
Expected to join Pardue on the mound will be sophomore Karley Burchett and freshman Allie Byrn. Burchett worked 48 innings as a freshman, posting an ERA of 4.667. Burchett recorded 29 strikeouts and issued 17 walks. Byrn worked 16.1 innings and struck out 10. Coach Bunton also noted that eighth-grader Brittany Anderson will pitch at the freshman and junior varsity levels and could work her way to the varsity squad as the season progresses.
The Lady Patriots have a strong sophomore class that will push for playing time. In addition to Burchett, the group includes Jenna Alexander, Maddie Lee, Macy Pruitt, Jaylee Woods, and MaKayla York. Woods has the most experience, having appeared in 21 games. Pruitt played 15 games last year.
Freshman Maddie Gregory will also be completing for playing time again this year. Gregory was in 32 games as an eighth grader, hitting .265 in 97 plate appearances. Gregory recorded 22 hits, four doubles, a homer, and knocked in 25 runs last spring. In addition to Gregory and Byrn, the varsity also includes freshman Breann Varner.
Coach Bunton is quick to note that the depth and experience of his squad means that finding the exact line-up is challenging.
“We don’t have everything decided yet,” Bunton admitted. “There are a lot of faces that you will see this year.”
Bunton expects his team to get out of the district this year but admits that it will not be easy.
“Barren County will be strong,” Bunton noted. “They have their starting pitcher back and she kept us off balance last year. If you went to the district tournament you saw that. We went 10 innings with them in the first round. Glasgow returns a lot of their starters and they are very good. Monroe County has vastly improved and will give us all we can handle.”
In the region, AC-S is rated fourth to start the season by softball coaches around the state---poised behind Warren East, South Warren, and Greenwood.
“People say the top two teams are South Warren and Warren East,” Bunton said. “I think we are right in the thick of them and that we are just as good. We just have to get on the field and prove it.”
Bunton and his players are excited to get the season started.
“We have been working since late September and a lot of our girls have gotten better,” Bunton said. “I’m really proud of them. My expectation is to be in the regional tournament and hopefully win the region. I know we have to get through district but I believe we have the team that can do it. I love this group of girls and I think they will do that.”
AC-S (22-15 last year) opens the season hosting South Warren on March 20. This year slate includes tournament action in Murfreesboro (TN), Bowling Green, Owensboro, and a spring break trip to Alabama to play in one of the South’s largest spring prep tournaments.