West softball wraps up perfect regular season
Published 6:20 pm Monday, April 22, 2019
The history of softball at West Stanly High School has been one of success in terms of wins and losses as well as state titles.
West has two state titles, in 1997 and 2013, and after last Thursday’s 12-0 win over Mount Pleasant, this season’s team has something in common with the 1997 squad; a perfect regular season.
The win for West (18-0, 10-0) completed the team’s regular season schedule without a blemish as the Colts dispatched the Tigers 12-0 in five innings.
Jordan Hatch continued to show no sophomore slump in the circle, allowing just two hits while striking out nine to earn the win, her 18th of the season.
Her earned-run average this season is 0.25 having allowed only four earned runs in 110 innings pitched. She has allowed 35 hits in those innings with opposing batters averaging .092 this season. Hatch has walked 14 and struck out a whopping 246 batters, making her strikeouts-to-walks ratio 17.6.
This season, West Stanly has outscored the opposition 141-14, averaging just under eight runs scored a game while allowing less then a run per game (0.8 runs per game).
West’s offensive leaders include players like Shelby Barbee. Not including Friday’s win, in which she was 2 for 4 with a double and three RBIs, she had a .540 batting average with a slugging percentage of 1.240, 10 home runs and 30 RBIs.
The long ball has been the weapon of choice for West much as it was last season. Three of the team’s long ball hitters (Barbee, Rosalyn McRae and Shelby Hatch) have combined for 21 of the team’s 26 home runs this season.
West Stanly has the week off for spring break and will be back on the field at Anson County Thursday May 2 in the semifinals of the Rocky River Conference tournament as the No. 1 seed.