Cougars persevering with 1st-year coach
To say this year has been an adventure for Kristina Andrews, in her first year as the Clay-Chalkville High School head softball coach, would be an understatement.
Before the season kicked into full gear, she already was down two players she anticipated being key pitchers for the Cougars.
“Besides that, I think it’s gone fairly well,” she said, with a laugh.
The Cougars advanced to the Class 6A Northeast Regional last spring, but attrition and a new coach have made parts of the 2017 season a challenge. Kristina Andrews said her girls have taken the challenge of constructing a foundation head on.
“You want to come back [after your career is over] and be proud of what you helped build,” she said, “because you do have people looking up to you and watching you even though you don’t think you do.”
As of the first week of April, Clay-Chalkville already had won more games than it did all last season, something that can be directly attributed to the Cougars displaying a “never say die” attitude on the field, regardless of the circumstances.
“I think she’s done a great job with the program in that regard, in taking what we have and improving on the win total from last year,” said Josh Andrews, Kristina Andrews’ husband, who is an assistant football and softball coach.
“They don’t ever give up,” Kristina Andrews said. “They never give up, which is a great thing.”
There is no better example of that unwillingness to give in than Clay-Chalkville’s game against Pelham on March 8. The Cougars found themselves down 7-0 after a half-inning of play. Instead of wilting, Clay-Chalkville cut the lead to 10-8 after three innings.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Cougars took a 15-13 lead, but surrendered it in the top of the seventh. However, the Cougars prevailed and won with a walk-off hit to win 16-15.
Another part of the adventure has been the emergence of junior Alexis Griffin as one of the Cougars’ top players. The center fielder began the season batting right-handed, but got off to such a sluggish start at the plate that she switched to hitting from the left side of the dish. Ever since, she has played well.
“She has a lot of potential,” Kristina Andrews said. “She didn’t start playing softball until the ninth grade. She could be something if she sticks with it.”
Kelsey English is a player who had no plans of pitching this season but was forced into the action as Clay’s primary starting pitcher. Eighth-grader Julia Petty and Lauren Wright also have shared the load on the mound.
In all, there are just 12 girls in the Clay-Chalkville program, with catcher Kaitlyn Berry, shortstop Jewel Mealing, Rachel Smith, Shelby Morgan, Leah Piazza, Meliya Tucker, Rachel Wright and Alexis Jenkins contributing this season.