Saluda softball team comes out of the gate fast with 10-1 start

           Saluda – The Saluda High School softball team didn’t have a great regular season last year. The Tigers were just 6-15, but did manage to finish fourth in Region 2-AA and make the state playoffs.

           From there though, SHS would advance to the championship round of its district tournament. That finish has catapulted Saluda into a great start to this season. It is 10-1 overall and 4-0 in region play.

           “The girls have worked very hard to get to the this point and have proven themselves day after day,” said Tigers head coach Hannah Towery. “Last year’s run in the playoffs is motivation for this year.”

           Having an outstanding pitcher in the circle can take a softball team to another level, and SHS has that in senior Samantha Minick. She is an All-State performer and has signed with Newberry College.

           Minick has a 1.51 earned run average in 37 innings pitched. She has 42 strikeouts against just eight walks while allowing 29 hits.

           “Sam Minick is a great leader in the circle,” Towery said. “She does her thing and isn’t afraid to go after anyone. Her confidence radiates among the team.”

           Seventh-grader Miller Martin has tossed 21 innings with a 4.00 ERA and 30 strikeouts. Junior Taylor Wideman and sophomore Abby Nichols have also seen time in the circle.

           Saluda is ripping the ball offensively, batting .353 as a team and averaging 10 runs a contest. Of their 95 hits, 27 have been for extra bases.

           Senior All-Region catcher Jana Pou leads in hitting with a .419 average. Sophomore second baseman Ava Martin and junior centerfielder Tamia Daniels are both batting .412, while junior first baseman/catcher Jayme Sheaffer is batting .406.

           Senior All-Region third baseman Ella Gentry is batting .367 and is tied with Daniels for the team lead in home runs with three. Sophomore shortstop Hannah Mills is batting .364, Minick is batting .333, sophomore leftfielder Addy Buzhardt is at .267 and freshman rightfielder Amy Sorcia is at .200.

           Daniels leads in runs batted in with 15, while Sheaffer, Pou, Gentry, Mills and Ava Martin each have 13.

           Pau leads the team in stolen bases with 10 while Daniels has six.

           Saluda has swept Newberry High and defending region champion Strom Thurmond in its first two series. However, the Tigers still have to face defending state runner-up Mid-Carolina and Ninety Six, two teams that have split their games.

           “We still have four region games left against two very well-coached programs,” Towery said. “Those will be great games between very talented teams.”