LAURINBURG — The Scotland High softball team made a big splash in the 4A state playoffs last season, advancing as far as the third round after the No. 15 Lady Scots stunned No. 2 West Forsyth in the second round.
The majority of that team is back this season. With the help of several newcomers, the Lady Scots will try to build on their success from last year.
“Coming off last year, I still think we’re going to be a pretty good team defensively,” head coach Adam Romaine said. “Pitching, I still have all the faith in the world with Kinsley Sheppard on the mound. I’ve got two young pitchers. I’m impressed with the things I’m seeing from them.
“Offense and hitting was our Achilles’ heel last year,” she added. “We’ve still got some work to do. I told the girls we’ve got to be able to hit the ball five or six girls down the lineup consistently in order to be able to win in conference this year.”
The Lady Scots lost two big parts of their offense from last season. Kassee Lowe graduated after finishing as the team’s co-leader in RBI with 14. The player she shared that title with, catcher Taylor Waitley, transferred to Richmond after earning all-conference honors as a freshman last year.
Those players left big shoes to fill, but the Lady Scots still have some firepower in their lineup. All-conference sophomore shortstop Olivia Hyatt led the Lady Scots with a .408 batting average and 22 runs scored last year. Senior third baseman Katie Smith finished her junior campaign with a .333 batting average, as well as 10 RBI. Sisters Kadence and Kinsley Sheppard had strong showings at the plate as well — Kadence hit .292 as a freshman last season and Kinsley hit .259.
Kadence is a speedy sophomore outfielder who is hard to handle on the base paths. She tallied 11 stolen bases last season, the second-highest mark behind second baseman Raven Taylor (12).
Kinsley is entering her junior season. Last year was her first year as a Lady Scot — the Sheppard sisters transferred in from Scotland Christian Academy. Kinsley quickly established herself as one of the elite pitchers in the Sandhills Athletic Conference. Her final stat line left many wondering why she wasn’t included on the all-conference team: 113 1/3 innings, 1.42 ERA, 133 strikeouts, 87 hits allowed and 25 walks allowed. Opponents hit just .189 against her.
Kinsley has verbally committed to play softball at UNC-Pembroke. She will be Scotland’s workhorse in the circle this season. Freshmen Sydnee Dial and Irlyn Ramos are also in line to pitch.
“I feel comfortable with the two behind (Kinsley),” Sheppard said. “We won’t miss a lot if I have to use them here and there.”
The Lady Scots’ team batting average was .308 last season. They hit a rough patch offensively late in the year; The Lady Scots were outscored 20-4 over the last five games of the regular season. Discipline had a lot to do with their struggles.
“In the cage we’ve been doing a lot of 0-1, 0-2 count situations,” Romaine said. “Battle, hit anything close and foul it off if you don’t like it. We’ve just got to be disciplined at the plate. The only way to put the ball in play is to swing the bat. If you look at a pitch and leave it in the guy’s hands behind the plate, you never know what you’re going to get in the strike zone.
“That’s one of our percentages we want to take down. We were caught looking at called third strikes dozens of times. That really hurt us in key times of the game. We’ve definitely got to grow with that.”
The Lady Scots are set to begin their season with a home game against South View next Thursday at 6 p.m. They’ll then open conference play at Jack Britt on Feb. 10. They’ll open a two-game series with Purnell Swett five days later.
“We’ve got a tough four (conference games) to open up with, Jack Britt and Purnell,” Romaine said. “Those first four games will be the deciding factor in where we’re going to stand at in the conference.”
The Lady Scots have home-and-away arrangements with South View and Gray’s Creek this season. They’ll face more non-conference competition at the West Brunswick Easter Tournament on April 13-15.
