The Putnam County High School Lady Eagles softball team bounced back from last week’s season-opening losses with plenty of spirit. The girls worked hard, learning their new positions better and learning to play hard to come out on top.
The Lady Eagles were scheduled to play Oglethorpe Aug. 15, but the game got rained out, with a make-up date yet to be scheduled. The next day, however, the team got a good taste of its potential, putting together a solid 11-2 effort over Josey High School, from Augusta. This game was just the confidence boost they needed for the game they’d face later in the week.
When the Lady Eagles played Lincoln County Aug. 10, they lost 17-5, but on home turf Aug. 18, the Lady Eagles were ready to redeem themselves and earned payback by going 9-6 over the Devils.
The team has grown significantly and has done well filling in positions lost from its 2021-2022 seniors. This week, spectators saw the Lady Eagles’ center positions play their hearts out.
Amelia Morris now plays her sister’s old position at shortstop, while Eva Espin took her junior year off from softball, but came back able to assimilate seamlessly back into the team, and Jenna McDerment now lines up in center field. These three seniors truly impacted the team’s overall game-play.
“It’s been a while since I played center field, so I was a little skeptical about it at first,” McDerment admitted after excelling in her new role. “But with me practicing and getting better, I now love it and it’s my home on the field.”
It was clear the entire Lady Eagles team had worked together to improve upon their struggles from the previous week.
“The girls have really worked hard this week. They kept the energy up and worked throughout the entire game. The coaches and I are very proud of how they played,” softball head coach Molly Jones said of her players’ rebound from the earlier games.