to make a run this spring
By Jim Mayhall
Sports Editor
HALEYVILLE – With the loss of several
longtime standouts such as Caroline King, Emily Taylor, Laken Egres and
Brooke Bailey, Haleyville varsity softball coach Greg Taylor will have
a lot of new names on the lineup card this spring.
“We lost basically our whole
infield,” the coach commented last week. “Alli O’Rear
(grade) will be back at second base. She played most of last year, so
she has a little varsity experience. We had a transfer, Taylor Prescott
from Bear Creek, come in and she has played some at
shortstop.”
Haleyville has only four players listed on the
roster from the top three grades. They are seniors Candace Crane and
Ashley Benefield, junior Amy Putman and Prescott, a sophomore.
There are six freshmen on the team, O’Rear,
Sydney Kiser, Kelly Edwards, Callie Pendley, Lacey Burleson and Megan
Crane.
Rounding out the squad are eighth-graders Holly
Ward, Perri Gilbert, Tori Pendley, Macy West, Paris Nelson, Julie
Johnson and Cierra Townsend. Seventh-graders are Ashlyn Jones, Kalan
Bishop, Peyton Townsend and Peyton Kiser.
“Overall, we’re hoping our youth will
rise to the occasion. A lot of these girls are young, but a lot have at
least some varsity experience,” the coach said. “We are
going to make some mistakes, but hopefully, we will improve as the
season goes.”
The Lady Lions will have the same area opponents
as last year, Dora, Fayette County and West Point.
“Obviously, Dora is the one who has given
us trouble over the past couple of years,” stated Taylor.
“All of the area games are important because they are used for
seeding in the area tournament, just like in basketball.”
Along with the three area rivals, other opponents
on Haleyville’s regular season schedule include Phil Campbell,
Carbon Hill, Hamilton, and Northridge, a 6-A school in Tuscaloosa. The
Lady Lions will also be hosting a round robin tournament in April.
Haleyville’s softball facility will be
sporting a brand new scoreboard this spring, which has an
inning-by-inning feature.
“A lot of private donations were made to
help with the new scoreboard,” the coach said. “Mark Hulsey
and his crew came in and helped us put it up. He donated a lot of hours
and we are grateful for that. We still lack the wiring for the board,
but we are going to take a lot of pride in it. It took a lot of hard
work and effort from a lot of people. Without the donations, it
couldn’t have been done.”
The Lady Lions were runners-up to Dora in last
year’s area tournament. Competing in the 4A North Central Region
Tournament at Vestavia Hills, Haleyville lost their first game to Saks,
but came back to defeat Ashville and Cleburne County. Their season
ended, however, with a loss to Alexandria.
