Katie Carpenter sets the bar pretty high for herself and for her teammates as well.

The Holly Hill Academy pitcher can proudly claim two SCISA Class AA state softball titles and clearly has a hunger for more. And why not? The Lady Raiders softball program is rich in tradition and has been successful in years past.

Carpenter and her HHA teammates finished the 2009 season with a 23-11 record despite losing six starters from their 2008 championship team. In the end, the Lady Raiders fell short of defending their title after placing sixth in the state tournament. Carpenter was still able to pick up numerous awards for her work during their previous campaign including the team’s most valuable player award, SCISA Region 2-AA Player of the Year and 2009 Times and Democrat Softball Player of the Year.

It’s the second T&D Softball All-Area Player of the Year award for the player whose softball career began at the age of 8 when she pitched in a farm league. Even before Carpenter began participating in sports, her father had a huge influence in her involvement.

“He coached numerous teams like Dixie Youth and traveling teams,” Carpenter said. “He always had my sister and me active in it. So, if it was anything, he kept me going with it.”

Carpenter made the junior varsity softball team at Holly Hill Academy in the sixth grade. Like her previous teams, Carpenter’s father coached her on the JV level as well. The following year proved to be a launching point for her high school softball career.

“I played a full season at JV, but seventh graders could still play varsity then,” Carpenter said. “So, I went up for season tournaments they had and I actually went and pitched some games in the actual state tournament.”

Carpenter picked up her first state championship in 2005, but this past season was a little different. With younger players in place, Carpenter adjusted to her role as a leader.

“The hardest thing to do was to be patient with them and trying to teach them what to do instead of yelling at them,” Carpenter said. “I tried not to yell at them. I tried to remember that you have to take yourself out of the situation and remember that they’re younger. If you want them to perform well, you have to work with them and not push them and expect them to know it.”

The SCISA All-State pitcher won 17 of her team’s 23 games with a 1.05 earned run average and 184 strikeouts. Even with statistics like that, Carpenter admits that this season proved to be a lot more difficult than she could have imagined.

“I felt probably 10 times more pressure this year than I did last year,” she said. “Pitchers have to be so precise. You can only miss about an inch or it’s your fault. My catcher (Taylor Owens) and I definitely felt the pressure. It was almost like if she wasn’t catching well, I wouldn’t be anything. If I wasn’t pitching well, she wouldn’t be anything. For us, the pressure was definitely there.”

Owens will not be behind the plate during the upcoming season making things a little different for Carpenter and the Lady Raiders. However, Carpenter is still looking forward at getting a shot at winning her third state title and, perhaps, her third consecutive T&D All-Area Player of the Year award.

“I’m really excited,” she said. “I’m going to be working hard. Even though my teammates will be more experienced this year, I still want to make sure that I do my job. It’s going to be a good time.”

2009 Times & Democrat Softball All-Area First Team

Katie Carpenter (Holly Hill Academy, Jr. Pitcher) - 17-7 record, .960 fielding %, 1.05 ERA, 184 K’s, 24 BB’s

Taylor Hicks (Bamberg-Ehrhardt, Jr. Pitcher) - .842 fielding %, 2.10 ERA, 92 K’s

Taylor Owens (Holly Hill Academy, Sr. Catcher) - .446 batting avg., 34 RBI, 18 doubles, 1 triple

Franchesca Hook (Bethune-Bowman, Jr. First Baseman) - .481 batting avg., 11 RBI, 5 doubles

Brooke Easterling (Branchville, Jr. Second Baseman) - .448 batting avg.

Tori Craig (Bamberg-Ehrhardt, Fr. Third Baseman) - .481 batting avg., 20 RBI, .921 fielding %

Jasmine Shuler (Bethune-Bowman, Sr. Shortstop) - .667 batting avg., 2 HR, 19 RBI, 7 doubles, 3 triples, 20 stolen bases Somazia Pelzer (Bethune-Bowman, Jr. Outfielder) - .452 batting avg., 5 HR, 25 RBI, 5 doubles, 3 triples, 31 stolen bases

Brandy Lassiter (Holly Hill Academy, Jr. Outfielder) - .463 batting avg., 1 HR, 22 RBI, 17 doubles, 2 triples, 5 stolen bases

Rhonda Hook (Bethune-Bowman, Sr. Outfielder) - .450 batting avg., 5 RBI, 2 doubles, .941 fielding %

2009 Times & Democrat Softball Honorable Mention

Jessica Medlin (Bamberg-Ehrhardt)

Tiffany Bryant (Bamberg-Ehrhardt)

Alex Funchess (Branchville)

Kate Pruett (Branchville)

Marissa Becker (Holly Hill Academy)

Kelcee Shore (Blackville-Hilda)

Heather Still (Blackville-Hilda)

Talena Milhouse (H-K-T)

Shabreka Stroman (H-K-T)

Jalita Pou (H-K-T)

Kayla Mims (Orangeburg Prep)

Barkley Stoudenmire (Orangeburg Prep)

Kate Edwards (Orangeburg Prep)

Jessica Lyons (Calhoun Academy)

T&D Sports Writer Emery Glover can be reached by e-mail at eglover@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5532. Check out his blog, Cover 2, at www.thetandd.com.

 

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