This is an opinion column.
By Bobby Mathews, Sports Editor
I heard the whispers before the season started: “This Hewitt-Trussville softball team isn’t going to be as strong as last year’s.” “These girls aren’t going to hit homers like they did last season.” Or “We’re going to have to temper our expectations.”
Early losses to Hoover and Athens seemed to bear out the prevailing wisdom that the Huskies weren’t what they were in 2019 and 2021. Here’s the problem with that: No one told the girls.
I caught every game of the Hewitt Invitational over the weekend, watching the Huskies bomb 13 homers over the course of 24 innings or so.
I also saw super sophomore Sara Phillips pitch 14-and-a-third innings, strike out 22 batters over the last six games overall, and I’d need a magnifying glass to see her ERA: 0.375. Phillips’ composure in the circle, especially for a 10th grader, is remarkable. She has the ability that all great athletes do: To shake off a bad play, a bad pitch, and get on with the next thing.
Phillips also hit four home runs during the tournament.
Sarah Hindman was a star in the circle, too, pitching two shutouts, including four innings of no-hit ball to open the tournament and then allowing only two hits over the course of five more innings to close things out against Austin High School.
That four-game roll through the tournament got head coach Taylor Burt within one win of her 300th victory as a head coach.
And what can I say about Kenleigh Cahalan? Early in the season, teams have been pitching around Cahalan, walking her to get to other hitters who don’t have her power-hitting reputation. When they didn’t? Cahalan made them pay dearly.
I’m thinking specifically of a Friday night blast against Helena that cleared the scoreboard and bashed the windshield of some fan’s car. Or how about when the bases were loaded against Austin and Cahalan went yard for the fifth time in four games for the grand slam?
Goodness, that girl can hit.
What impresses me most about Cahalan, however, is a part that often goes overlooked. She’s rock-solid at shortstop for the Huskies, part of a middle infield (along with Hannah Dorsett) that is considered one of the best in the state, and for good reason.
Four other Huskies hit dingers in the tournament: Olivia Stults, Olivia Faggard, Ana Henson and Riley Rudick.
Are y’all sure this team isn’t as strong as last year’s? Because right now they’re 11-2-1, and it’s still early in the season. This team is, in many ways, still finding its identity after losing a boatload of seniors last year.
Be patient with them. Remember it’s a long season — the regular season runs through April 28 — before the playoffs even start.
It would be dumb to sell these young women short.
Bobby Mathews is sports editor at The Tribune. Reach him on Twitter: @bobbymathews; or by email: bobby.mathews@trussvilletribune.com