Demorest, GA – The Piedmont College softball program has a rich and storied tradition including a conference regular season and tournament title in the USA South a season ago and the Lady Lions will be looking to build upon that success in 2015. The team will be having a fresh start with some fresh faces mixed with plenty of familiar ones for fans of the program.
“We have a lot of girls coming back from last year in starting positions,” head coach Terry Martin said. “We’ve had a couple of freshmen step up and we’ll be alright as long as our pitching holds up as obviously, in this sport, pitching is the key.”
At that most crucial spot on the field, the Lions’ return two key starters on the mound from a season ago in JORDIN ELLINGSON and SARAH WALKER as well as reliever KRISTINA COGGINS. Martin has also added into the mix two freshmen pitchers in LAUREN BEARDEN and NATALIE WINTERS and several pitcher/position players who could serve in different roles within this system.
One key piece to the puzzle is senior WHITNEY WOLFE who started every contest for the Lions in 2014 and is one of four seniors on this roster. Wolfe, along with MARYROSE BURNS, MADISON EUBANKS and ABBY ATKINSON are the four seniors making up part of the eight upperclassmen under Martin’s leadership.
“With her (Wolfe’s) success that she had last season, I was proud for her. That success I hope continues on,” Martin said of his veteran returner. “She’s a quiet leader but she works hard and the girls follow her so it’s very important that she’s there with her leadership on the infield. ABBY ATKINSON is a very good leader also so she will help us in spots in our defense and offense.”
The Lady Lions will have fresh faces aplenty in 2015 as 15 newcomers have been added to the roster. With over half a team of freshmen, there are some challenges, but Martin is confident those additions can contribute to the team’s success.
“We are young, and we’ve got a couple freshmen that are going to have to start for us,” Martin said. “In my opinion, the way we coach, the freshmen that will help us will come to the top automatically.
“BRITTANY FUTRAL will have to step up and be a catcher for us. We’re probably thin there more than we are any other place,” Martin said of his freshmen that will have an immediate impact on the team.
Two others Martin mentioned were BECKA ROSS who he expects to step into a prominent hitting role while ALLYSON GENTRY will serve as a multifacted player with the ability to step into almost any role.
For the second year in a row, the team has earned a national ranking in the NFCA Top 25 Preseason Poll for Division III earning the #24 spot in the rankings. The Lady Lions take the national recognition after finishing last season ranked #21 in the final NFCA poll after posting their third finalist appearance in a NCAA Regional over the last four seasons.
Mother Nature forced the softball team to patiently watch and wait as the weather left the start to the season up in the air. Despite having to push back the season opener and delay multiple contests, the time has come for the Lady Lions to begin the 2015 season. Piedmont will be opening play against Birmingham Southern, the same opponent they opened with a season ago.
In 2014, Piedmont played host to the Panthers of BSC at Walker Athletic Complex sweeping the visiting squad. This year, PC travels to Birmingham, Alabama to take on Birmingham Southern at their field in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. ET.
Live stats will be provided through Birmingham Southern’s website here, as well as a video feed available here (the video feed will be only visual with no audio).
For more information on the Piedmont softball program, follow Piedmont on Twitter (@PCLionSoftball or @PiedmontLions), like the Lions on Facebook (facebook.com/PiedmontCollegeLions), or sign up for the Lions’ Roar text-messaging score & news alerts through the “All-Access” pulldown menu on the main page at PiedmontLions.com.
