Young Andrew Jackson Academy Softball Team Focused On Success
By Billy G. Baker
Publisher
Ehrhardt — The Andrew Jackson Academy softball team (3-6, 0-5) under new head coach Richard Moore this season and with the team made up mainly of 8th and 9th grade travel ball players the future looks bright for the Lady Warriors.
“I am fortunate to have Chad Johnson as my assistant coach and he had two former daughters who were very good softball players at Bamberg-Ehrhardt,” said Coach Moore. “He has a freshman daughter on the team (Reeves Johnson) who starts for us in center field.
“Coach Johnson and I wanted to work the softball program at AJA because the majority of our younger players are very committed to the sport of softball and they play summer sport also,” said Coach Moore. “We just want to do what we can to help these girls reach their potential in the sport of softball.”
Going into Spring break, AJA had three wins over Patrick Henry (13-5), Jefferson Davis Academy (4-2) and Holly Hill Academy (11-10). “Against Holy Hill Academy lead-off batter Carrigan Moore, the team’s starting catcher, hit a home run as did 8th grader Mary Gray Hiers who bats in the 8th slot and plays third base. Moore is currently batting .263 with one home run while Hiers has a key home run to her credit.
Junior second baseman Sydney Crosby bats second in the order and she is currently batting .265 with one RBI. Freshman McKinley Beard, bats third in the order, and she is batting.294 with 9 stolen bases.
Beard is also the team’s main pitcher and she has all three wins to her credit. To date she has pitched in 24.2 innings with 21 strike-outs.
Junior Riley Rowe is the team’s clean-up batter and she starts in right field. Johnson, who has excellent speed in center field, bats 5th in the order and she is batting .267 with one RBI. Talented 8th grade shortstop Harlo Sease leads the team in batting, from the number six spot in the order, with a .375 average, including two RBI’s and two stolen bases.
Sophomore Riley Privette bats 7th in the order and starts at first base. Hiers is holding down the number 8 batting slot while starting at third base and junior left-fielder Sam Stevens is batting in the 9 slots.
Key reserves on the team include: Sophomore CF Alex Johnson, 8th grade back-up pitcher Mariah Hiott, 9th grade RF Izzie Brandt, 9th grade third baseman Braelyn Hall, sophomore first baseman CJ Ulmer and junior RF Kaydence Clementson.
“The hardest part of our schedule we’ve already played,” said Coach Moore. “We lost twice to both Clarendon Hall and Calhoun Academy earlier in the season. In our last two ball games we have really improved out hitting. We would like to finish strong over the second half of the season and make it into the playoffs. That would be really great if we could make the play-offs at the end of the season with such a young team.
“We just hope the girls learn and get better with every practice and every game,” said Coach Moore. “We do not have any seniors on this team. We will have everybody back next season. We see great potential in our young team.”
“We have been working very hard in practice at improving our hitting,” said Coach Moore. “We are also working very hard to develop some depth at pitching.”
Coming out of Spring break AJA will have two region games at home against St. Johns Christian on April, 10, before playing at Patrick Henry on April, 12. Should they win both those games it would go a long way in helping the team secure a berth in the SCISA play-offs.
About us
Recognizing the achievements of young athletes in South Carolina since 1986.