Lady Indians learning how to win

Pinson Valley High School softball players are no longer simply playing for the sake of playing.

Third-year head coach Laurin Watts has taught them how to win.

“The foundation’s been laid,” said Watts, who leads the Lady Indians after back-to-back regional berths in her first two seasons at the helm. “Now it’s just picking up where we left off.”

Consecutive Class 6A, Area 12 championships sent the Lady Indians to the North Central Regional, where they were “happy to be there” in 2015 and “aiming a little higher” in 2016.

“We’ve gotten our feet wet, and now that they’ve gotten a taste of what it’s like to be successful in the postseason, especially my senior class, they’re hungry; they’re ready to get back there,” Watts said.

Watts has been around plenty of winning in her days around high school softball, having won three state championships in high school while at Tuscaloosa Academy. She assisted briefly at Mortimer Jordan and Hoover — both perennially solid programs — before arriving at Pinson.

She has two key ingredients for a successful program at Pinson Valley: buy-in from players and talent.

“This is the best group of girls, character wise, player wise, attitude wise. Everybody is on board and has the same mission, same mindset, same goals. It’s really exciting,” Watts said.

Good players are needed as well to make all of that work.

“I was blessed when I came into it that I had the talent pool that I had,” she said.

Watts has the rest of this season with ace pitcher Lauren Keplinger, who has thrown the majority of innings the last two years for Pinson Valley. Sophomore Hope Cole and freshman Jordan Walker have varsity experience, and the two of them have helped spell the team’s top arm when needed, as Keplinger was susceptible to fatigue down the stretch in the previous two seasons.

“I’m really hoping this year to really split those innings between Hope and Jordan,” Watts said.

Two seniors have departed in each of Watts’ first two seasons, speaking to just how young the team she inherited was. The Lady Indians are replacing their starting center fielder and catcher from the 2016 squad.

Hana Presley is now the team’s primary catcher, as the senior has played primarily corner infield spots in years past. Watts is also pleased with the progress of Maison Tanner, who is the Lady Indians’ new center fielder.

“She’s been a starter since ninth grade, and is someone who flies under the radar but gets the job done.” Watts said of Tanner.

Gracie Graves and Destinee Cole work together in the middle infield slots, as the duo turned roughly 75 percent of the Lady Indians’ double plays in 2016.

“Gracie and Destinee play off of each other really well,” Watts said. “If you have a shortstop and second baseman that are athletic, you can go a long way.”

Junior third baseman Madison Pliscofsky is a player Watts lauds as one of the best clutch hitters on the team. 

If Watts has done anything, she has raised the goals for the Lady Indians’ program. Incomers into the program have begun to understand what is expected every season.

“When these freshmen came in, they already knew what the expectation level was,” Watts said. “The underclassmen know that, and the upperclassmen expect that from them.”