Johnsonville softball ready to compete in Lower State

Johnsonville – A 3-3 start to the regular season, along with a championship in a preseason tournament, has Johnsonville High softball coach Walter Clark feeling good about his team’s chances of being a strong contender in the Class A postseason.

“We’re good enough to be competitive with every team that we play,” Clark said. “We have some good players back so experience is a strength for us. Offensively I think we can hit enough to create some runs. We seem to be solid defensively and we have solid pitching.”

The Flashes split two key region games with East Clarendon, leaving the teams in a tie for the region lead. It’s not likely either will lose a region game the rest of the way.

“We had two really close games with them,” Clark said. “They beat us by two runs and we beat them by a run, We led the game we lost in the sixth inning so we had a chance. They are a good team and we competed with them down to the end.”

After spring break, Johnsonville will test themselves against the defending Class A state champions from Hannah-Pamplico, which Clark says will be good preparation for the state playoffs.

Clark entered the season having to replace four seniors and has infused some young talent with a handful of veteran performers.

Two of the three starters in the outfield – leftfielder Kristin Smith and rightfielder Chloe Cribb – are seniors. Sophomore Brianna Lawrimore is the starter in center.

Freshman Payton Wall is starting behind the plate and was a starter last season. Wall is hitting .476 early on this spring.

Freshman Mallory Prosser is playing first base and is hitting .432 with two homeruns early on. Sophomore Allison Eaddy is starting at second and has shown potential offensively.

Junior Blair Coker is a third-year starter at shortstop and a returning all-state selection. Coker is hitting .410 early on. Senior Nicole Cook hits leadoff and plays third base. Cook was the starter in centerfield last spring but has been strong defensively in her new position while hitting .438.

Inside the pitching circle, sophomore Natalie Taylor is the number one performer, posting a 1.56 earned run average early on. Prosser and Wall also see time as pitchers but Taylor and Prosser are the top two.

“I am excited to see how far we can go with this team,” Clark said. “Hopefully we can continue to improve and be playing our best ball when it counts. There are some good teams to contend with in the Lower State but I feel like we can compete with anyone if we play to our potential.”