Blazing forward

Two of the best softball players to walk the halls of Hewitt-Trussville High School in recent years are still realizing their dreams at the next level.

Taylor Beshears and Amber Hammonds, two of the main cogs on the Huskies’ state tournament team in 2015, recently completed successful two-year stints at Wallace State Community College.

Beshears will join the burgeoning program at Jacksonville State and Hammonds is heading to play for Les Stuedeman -— a former Hewitt coach — at the University of Alabamain Huntsville.

Both spots were more than earned, as both Beshears and Hammonds were standouts in their own right at Wallace State, on a team that won the Alabama Community College Conference championship each of the last two seasons.

Beshears set Hanceville ablaze with a stellar freshman season, as she set a single-season school record with 84 RBIs and 33 doubles. She finished the year with 104 hits and earned a third team spot on the National Junior College Athletic Association’s All-American team.

A move to the leadoff spot skewed her production numbers somewhat as a sophomore in 2017, but she still hit for a high .440 average and racked up a team-high 17 home runs and tied for the team lead with 45 RBIs. 

Hammonds was the other teammate with 45 RBIs on the year, and the center fielder led the squad with 16 stolen bases. She also harnessed some of her natural power to launch 15 homers to go along with a .373 average.

Hammonds has always had pop in her bat but has had trouble being consistent with that at times. She gave a large amount of credit to first-year Wallace State coach A.J. Daugherty and assistant Sallie Beth Burch for helping her improve inthat regard.

“That’s what the coaches taught me, is to just pass the bat,” Hammonds said. “Shake it off and know you have that next at-bat to improve.”

Beshears is heading to a Jacksonville State team coming off consecutive NCAA regional appearances, a perfect landing spot for the catcher after her playing career took a bit of a different road than initially anticipated. 

She committed to Arkansas as a high school sophomore, but never made it there, instead heading to Wallace State to begin her college years.

“At the time, it was very disappointing,” Beshears said. “But looking back, I’m glad it changed. I honestly think that. [Wallace] was great. It was what fit me best. I got a chance to grow up.”

But after putting her nose to the grindstone, she still accomplished her ultimate goal of being able to play softball at the Division I level.

“I worked hard and did what I need to get done. It just paid off in the end both years,” Beshears said.

Hammonds said she wanted to go to UAH straight out of high school, but she also had to make other plans, and ended up at Wallace. Fortunately for her, UAH still had a spot for her this time around. 

As high schoolers, Beshears and Hammonds were leaders in a resurgence of the Hewitt-Trussville program, as they guided the Huskies to state as seniors.

“Taylor and Amber really helped our team excel not only on the field, but off too,” said Maddie Dorsett, another standout on that team who just completed her freshman year at Mississippi State. “They were both great examples of hard-working, selfless and competitive teammates.”

Dorsett said the two were the kind of players that the team needed to get over the hump, not just because of their individual talent, but because of strong leadership skills.

“We were relentless for them and because of them,” Dorsett said. “We knew we had a chance to win every game we played because of their continuous guidance and perseverance.”

Beshears still holds precious a picture of herself and Dorsett celebrating after the Huskies sealed that state tournament berth. Beshears called it the “best moment of my life,” a statement that is backed up by her expression in that photo. For Hammonds, that accomplishment was obviously her most fond memory of that season as well.

But now, after playing together for the majority of their softball years, the two will play on separate teams next year. 

“It was great,” Beshears said of having Hammonds as a teammate for so long. “Having her when we were really young, through middle school and high school and even in college, was a really good experience, to have someone that knows your struggles and that helps you on and off the field.”

Both said they enjoyed seeing the growth of the other physically and personally throughout the years, and won’t take for granted the time they had as teammates.

“It’s going to be sad, us going our separate ways,” Hammonds said. “She’s one of my best friends.”