Lady Saints start with ‘W’
Published 10:07 pm Thursday, March 17, 2016
A small and talented Nansemond-Suffolk Academy softball team put together a 6-5 victory over the visiting Southampton High School Lady Indians on Wednesday to start off its season.
NSA senior Brooklyne Carr prepares to launch a ball into the field during practice on Thursday at Nansemond-Suffolk Academy. Carr is a pivotal part of a 2016 Lady Saints team that could win both the conference and state tournaments.
“A ‘W’ is always nice, no matter how it comes,” Lady Saints coach Brittany Wilkins said. “We definitely made it close. We scored first and they quickly answered back.”
The Lady Indians took a 2-1 lead in the second inning and made it 4-1 in the fourth, but then NSA reeled off five runs in the fifth. Southampton made it a one-run game in the top of the seventh before the Lady Saints secured the final out.
Nansemond-Suffolk senior Katie Peelen got the win on the mound, and the Lady Saints out-hit Southampton 13-9.
NSA junior Delaney Taylor went 3-for-3 and hit the first home run of her career. Eighth-grader Addy Greene went 3-for-4, senior Brooklyne Carr went 2-for-3 and sophomore Dani Goodman produced two runs batted in.
The Lady Saints return much of the talent that helped them go 14-8 last year, finishing second in the conference for the regular season and second in the conference tournament. Their season ended against Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools rival Greenbrier Christian Academy in the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division II state semifinals.
This year, Nansemond-Suffolk has only 11 players — three seniors, one junior, five sophomores and two eighth-graders — but they inspire a lot of confidence in their coach.
“I think we’re definitely going to be strong in TCIS, we should make a run for the TCIS title, as well as a run for (the VISAA) Division II state title,” Wilkins said. “We’ve got a lot of experience out here.”
The group is led by Carr, who will split time between first and third base, and Peelen, who will be one half of a dynamic duo on the mound that also includes sophomore Emerson Puzey.
The team’s eighth-graders, center fielder Addy Greene and left fielder Anni Groves, have already stepped up in the starting lineup, making plays.
Their roles are particularly important given that the 2015 Lady Saints’ outfield graduated. It included Taylor Berard, Madi Glynn and Bridget Murphy.
NSA will also benefit this year from addition of sophomore Madi Currin, its new starting shortstop who transferred from Hickory High School.
The Lady Saints (1-0) go to Petersburg for a tournament this weekend.
