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ROYAL CENTER — Brooklynn Hagerty delivered the Logansport Berries a gem of a gift on her 17th birthday.
Hagerty pitched a two-hit shutout with 14 strikeouts and had a home run, single and six RBIs to lead the Berries to a 10-0 win in six innings over the Pioneer Panthers on Thursday at Herk Hoffman Field.
“Honestly, I’m just happy to be back out here with the girls,” Hagerty said. “It’s been a long awaited time just getting ready, working. So I’m excited and the weather worked out, so it was a pretty nice night.”
The Berries won in coach Molly Sterrett’s debut.
“I’m just looking forward to seeing how all of them grow this year,” said Sterrett, “because I’ve obviously inherited a lot of talent and so it’s my job to push them.”
The Panthers (2-1) have a team that will score a lot of runs this year but they ran into a pitcher that a lot of teams will struggle to make contact against in Hagerty, a junior righthander who has verbally committed to pitch at defending national champion Texas. She fanned 14 of the 22 batters she faced and allowed just two hits — one in the Logan scorebook as they counted one of the infield hits as an error.
“They’re a great team and you can’t slack on them,” Hagerty said of the Panthers. “I knew that going in and that I couldn’t miss my spots and if I did it’s like you better hope that your defense is there to back you up.
“There’s definitely still work to be done, but that’s why we do the game. It’s always what we work towards is just getting better. But I believe I went out there with the right intentions and for the most part was able to succeed.”
Lois Layer fared the best of the Panther hitters. She had a solid line drive single to left in the third. Addison Kennell followed with an infield single to load the bases with two outs. But Hagerty got Ava Beasy to pop out to second baseman Kate Spradling who made a nice running basket catch for the third out.
The Berries got their offense cooking on full blast which was a good sign for a team with Class 3A state championship aspirations.
Spradling, Adrienne Scott, Gracie Risley and Bella Nicoles had two hits apiece. Aracyn Good and Teagan Wolf each added a hit.
Layer, a junior righthander, allowed six runs (four earned) on nine hits and a walk in three innings. Sophomore lefthander Victoria Bingaman allowed four runs (three earned) on three hits and two walks in three innings.
Hagerty also hopes to hit at Texas and showed good power Thursday.
“Honestly, I’m just excited. I was just working on my swing all offseason in the cages all the time,” she said. “So I’m just happy about it.”
The Berries are set to compete this weekend at the power-packed Castle Invitational, which is billed as the strongest softball tournament in the state.
“We still have work to do,” Sterrett said. “I’m happy with where we are, but we’ve got to continue to push each game because each game’s gonna be different. And sometimes it’s battling ourselves is the hardest part.”
Athletic Director John Bingaman is back at the helm of the Pioneer softball team this year as Gabby Thomas stepped down before the season for family reasons. Thomas won state championships in 2018 and 2021 and was state runner-up in 2019 during her seven seasons as the Pioneer head coach.
“She’s doing what’s best for Gabby right now. She’s doing what’s best for her family,” Bingaman said. “So I understand that. She’s still part of this program. She’s still part of our fabric, so she’s always around. It was a tough choice for her, but she just did what was in the best interest of her and her family, which I always tell my coaches that every year, you do what’s best for you, best for your family. If that means you can coach, that’s great. And if that means that’s not a possibility, I understand. You always want to do what’s best for you, so that’s important.”
The Panthers look to be a contender in Class 1A this year but they ran into a buzzsaw Thursday.
“Her velocity obviously had us a little behind, so we hadn’t seen that the first two games,” Bingaman said. “To be honest with you, we need to see that. We need to see that kind of velocity. She did a good job. The umpire was giving her the high strike. So she’s a smart pitcher, what’s she gonna do? I’m gonna keep living up there as much as I can.”
The Panthers have just one senior this year in Beasy.
“We’re young, but we’ve got eight with real good softball experience,” Bingaman said. “And if I can get one more to fill in there. But we’ve got some softball acumen. I think we’ll be all right.”
Pioneer hosts Rochester and John Glenn for a three-way on Saturday.
Continue reading...
Hagerty pitched a two-hit shutout with 14 strikeouts and had a home run, single and six RBIs to lead the Berries to a 10-0 win in six innings over the Pioneer Panthers on Thursday at Herk Hoffman Field.
“Honestly, I’m just happy to be back out here with the girls,” Hagerty said. “It’s been a long awaited time just getting ready, working. So I’m excited and the weather worked out, so it was a pretty nice night.”
The Berries won in coach Molly Sterrett’s debut.
“I’m just looking forward to seeing how all of them grow this year,” said Sterrett, “because I’ve obviously inherited a lot of talent and so it’s my job to push them.”
The Panthers (2-1) have a team that will score a lot of runs this year but they ran into a pitcher that a lot of teams will struggle to make contact against in Hagerty, a junior righthander who has verbally committed to pitch at defending national champion Texas. She fanned 14 of the 22 batters she faced and allowed just two hits — one in the Logan scorebook as they counted one of the infield hits as an error.
“They’re a great team and you can’t slack on them,” Hagerty said of the Panthers. “I knew that going in and that I couldn’t miss my spots and if I did it’s like you better hope that your defense is there to back you up.
“There’s definitely still work to be done, but that’s why we do the game. It’s always what we work towards is just getting better. But I believe I went out there with the right intentions and for the most part was able to succeed.”
Lois Layer fared the best of the Panther hitters. She had a solid line drive single to left in the third. Addison Kennell followed with an infield single to load the bases with two outs. But Hagerty got Ava Beasy to pop out to second baseman Kate Spradling who made a nice running basket catch for the third out.
The Berries got their offense cooking on full blast which was a good sign for a team with Class 3A state championship aspirations.
Spradling, Adrienne Scott, Gracie Risley and Bella Nicoles had two hits apiece. Aracyn Good and Teagan Wolf each added a hit.
Layer, a junior righthander, allowed six runs (four earned) on nine hits and a walk in three innings. Sophomore lefthander Victoria Bingaman allowed four runs (three earned) on three hits and two walks in three innings.
Hagerty also hopes to hit at Texas and showed good power Thursday.
“Honestly, I’m just excited. I was just working on my swing all offseason in the cages all the time,” she said. “So I’m just happy about it.”
The Berries are set to compete this weekend at the power-packed Castle Invitational, which is billed as the strongest softball tournament in the state.
“We still have work to do,” Sterrett said. “I’m happy with where we are, but we’ve got to continue to push each game because each game’s gonna be different. And sometimes it’s battling ourselves is the hardest part.”
Athletic Director John Bingaman is back at the helm of the Pioneer softball team this year as Gabby Thomas stepped down before the season for family reasons. Thomas won state championships in 2018 and 2021 and was state runner-up in 2019 during her seven seasons as the Pioneer head coach.
“She’s doing what’s best for Gabby right now. She’s doing what’s best for her family,” Bingaman said. “So I understand that. She’s still part of this program. She’s still part of our fabric, so she’s always around. It was a tough choice for her, but she just did what was in the best interest of her and her family, which I always tell my coaches that every year, you do what’s best for you, best for your family. If that means you can coach, that’s great. And if that means that’s not a possibility, I understand. You always want to do what’s best for you, so that’s important.”
The Panthers look to be a contender in Class 1A this year but they ran into a buzzsaw Thursday.
“Her velocity obviously had us a little behind, so we hadn’t seen that the first two games,” Bingaman said. “To be honest with you, we need to see that. We need to see that kind of velocity. She did a good job. The umpire was giving her the high strike. So she’s a smart pitcher, what’s she gonna do? I’m gonna keep living up there as much as I can.”
The Panthers have just one senior this year in Beasy.
“We’re young, but we’ve got eight with real good softball experience,” Bingaman said. “And if I can get one more to fill in there. But we’ve got some softball acumen. I think we’ll be all right.”
Pioneer hosts Rochester and John Glenn for a three-way on Saturday.
Continue reading...
