(by Don Meador, The Citizen-Times, March 15, 2018, Used with permission)
The traditionally-strong Allen County-Scottsville Lady Patriot softball program enters the 2018 season looking to end a seven-year state tournament drought---the longest span between state tournament appearances in their 24-year fastpitch softball history. With seven seniors leading the way, AC-S is poised to make a run at not only a district championship for the 19th time but also the program’s seventh regional title.
“I think our girls are hungry,” second-year coach Robert Bunton said. “I hear them talking about how they want to be the best they can be and get to the state tournament. Most of these girls saw the 2011 team win the state and I believe they want to experience going to state and making some noise in the state for themselves.”
Seniors Jordan Anderson, Kassi Bullington, Alex Coleman, Kali Mutter, Kris-Anne Pardue, KayLee Stafford, and Taylor Stamps will be asked to lead the way.
“Our seniors are great leaders,” noted coach Robert Bunton. “I’m expecting all to see time on the field and good things from them.”
Pardue and Stamps lead the seniors in terms of on-field experience.
Pardue has been a mainstay Lady Patriot pitcher for the past three seasons. As a freshman, the right-hander threw in 67.2 innings, notched 20 strikeouts, and posted an ERA of 2.30. In 2016, Pardue worked 176.2 innings, struck out 98 batters, and finished the season with a 2.26 ERA. Last spring, Pardue worked 126.1 innings, recorded 68 strikeouts, and posted a 3.44 ERA. Overall, Pardue is 37-22 in the past three seasons. Offensively, Pardue is coming off a season in which she batted .324.
Stamps is the one of the Lady Patriots’ stronger batters. Last
season, Stamps played in every game (32), pounded 46 hits, ripped 14 doubles,
and drove in 34. She battled .438 which was second on the team. Her slugging
percentage rose to .600. Defensively, the right-fielder recorded 48 putouts in
the 55 chances that came her way. Her efforts earned her selection to the
District 15 All-Season and All-Tournament teams, Region 4 All-Tournament Team,
and Second Team All-Region. Stamps recently signed to play college ball at
Transylvania University.
The remaining seniors will be looked to for offense and defensive effectiveness. Anderson is expected to return as the team’s shortstop. Last season, Anderson appeared in 28 games and posted a .254 batting average. Defensively, Anderson had 71 putouts and compiled a fielding percentage of .920. Bullington played in 24 games---serving as a courtesy runner in many cases---finishing the season with 19 runs scored. Coleman appeared in 21 games, made 31 plate appearances, and scored 12 runs. Mutter played in 25 games, recorded 53 at-bats and scored 12 runs. Stafford appeared in nine games and recorded 12 plate appearances.
Several underclassmen are expected to resume where they left off from last year. Sophomore’s Allie Byrn and Madi Gregory bring a wealth of experience to the team---experience gained both by high school ball and by playing travel ball almost year-round since last summer.
Last spring for AC-S, Gregory plated every game for the Lady Patriots in 2017, batted .374, and recorded 37 hits. Gregory belted a team-high eight home runs and finished the year with a team-best 38 RBI’s. Byrn played in 24 games and appeared at the plate 74 times. The sophomore recorded 24 hits, scored 13 runs, and had 12 RBI’s. Byrn finished with a .358 batting average.
In addition to her offensive role, Byrn and junior Karley Burchett are expected to be available to give Pardue relief on the mound. Burchett is no stranger to the mound, having appeared in 55 innings as a sophomore. Burchett finished the year with a 7-4 record and an ERA of 2.67. Byrn worked 13.1 innings as well.
The fact that AC-S has three pitchers with varsity experience is a win-win situation for the Lady Patriots.
“It will be very beneficial because we will not have to overwork one pitcher,” Bunton added. “They work really good together. I think that will give us an edge in some games.”
One of the question marks starting the season revolves the catching position. AC-S lost Ryley Whitney---a four-year starter behind the plate---to graduation. As Whitney continues to shine at Campbellsville, who will take her spot remains to be seen.
“It’s hard to replace an All-State catcher like Ryley,” Bunton said. “We have a few girls that are doing pretty good. We may not be at Ryley’s caliber level at the start of the season but I have confidence we can get there by the end of the season.”
Whitney teamed with Kalee Skaggs last year to provide an explosive offensive punch. However, Bunton notes that he expects this year’s squad to entertain with their bats.
“We will be fun to watch offensively,” Bunton noted. “We lost a couple of big bats in Ryley Whitney and Kalee Skaggs but we have a lot of girls that have worked really hard with their hitting. I think it’s going to be exciting to watch these girls play this year.”
Bunton points out that his line-up is about “75 percent” determined but evaluations are continuing as to who will be in each position---batting order and defensive spots---when the season opens on Monday, March 19, against Greenwood. In addition to the work his returning players are putting forth, several younger players are battling for time.
“All of the younger kids have really improved,” Bunton noted. “I have told them to be ready when their time comes.”
AC-S finished last year with an 18-14 worksheet. The Lady Patriots were District 15 runner-up after losing a 1-0 decision to Barren County in the district title game. In Region 4 play, AC-S defeated Franklin-Simpson 9-1 in the quarterfinals before dropping a 5-1contest to eventual regional champion South Warren in the semifinals.
Barren County (22-9 last year) is expected to be strong in the District along with Glasgow and Monroe County looking to improve from last season. In the Region, Bunton looks for a newcomer to emerge as the favorite.
“Warren East has a ton of players coming back,” Bunton said. “I think they will be the team to beat.”
AC-S will start the season off the radar---in the eyes of the online site of Kentucky Prep Softball. In their recently released preseason rankings, South Warren is rated 10th and Warren East is 14th in the state. Barren County was identified at the “sleeper” in the region with AC-S rated fourth in the region.
Warren East has four players listed among region’s top 10. Byrn was selected as the ninth best player in the region with Gregory, Pardue, Burchett, and Stamps listed as players to watch. Pardue was also recognized by the website as a top-50 player to watch in the state.
The Lady Patriots will have a busy first week of the season. After hosting Greenwood next Monday, AC-S entertains Logan County on Tuesday, travels to Franklin-Simpson on Thursday, and goes to Boyle County on Saturday.
AC-S starts the season with an overall program record of 609-241-4.