MACON — Don’t let the fact that the Central Academy fast-pitch softball team draws from one of the smallest enrollments in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools fool you.
Even though the school has a student body of less than 100, the Lady Vikings boast one of the area’s top softball programs.
Coach Sammy Lindsey’s squad has been able to remain remarkably consistent because class after class passes down the tradition and players learn how to play the game at an early age.
Courtney Gaylord and Kelsey Robbins are two of the latest Lady Vikings to take what they have learned from past groups and to set the tone for the team.
Gaylord, a junior, and Robbins, a sophomore, did just that Saturday in leading Class A Central Academy to a 3-2 record and a second-place finish at the Starkville Academy tournament at the Starkville Sportsplex.
Central Academy (4-2) defeated Oak Hill Academy, a Class AA school, and Winston Academy, a Class AA school, and Jackson Victors, a home school program, and lost twice to Class AA power Leake Academy to finish as the runner-up in the area’s first tournament.
For their accomplishments, Gaylord and Robbins are The Dispatch’s Prep Players of the Week.
Gaylord pitched in four of the Lady Vikings’ games Saturday. In all, she worked 11 innings and earned three victories. She also pitched one inning in the first game against Leake Academy, a 15-0 loss. The junior walked seven and struck out 14.
“She did amazing,” Robbins said. “I think she was the pitcher there. Her accuracy was great. We couldn’t do it without her.”
Gaylord said she worked hard in the offseason to improve her control.
She hopes to set an example for pitchers Allie Beth Rigdon and Sadie Lindsey because, as coach Lindsey said, the Lady Vikings likely will need more than one pitcher if they want to compete in the postseason.
Gaylord hopes she can be a workhorse that leads the way. She acknowledged that she got a little tired Saturday on a hot day in which she pitched in nearly all of her team’s games. Still, she feels she has improved from last season.
“My control has gotten a lot better,” Gaylord said. “I am working on some new pitches, and they are coming a long a lot better than last year.”
Gaylord said repetition has been a key to helping improve her control.
She said she is better able to pinpoint pitches on the inside and outside corner. She hopes the get more comfortable with a riseball that she can add to a fastball, changeup, and dropball.
“She understands a little more about being able to locate the ball,” Sammy Lindsey said. “She is more mature as a pitcher. Like anybody, she is going to miss some spots sometimes, but that is where she has grown a lot, understanding a little more about pitching.”
Robbins was part of a hitting attack that had six hits against Winston Academy, 11 against Jackson Victors, and 10 against Oak Hill Academy. Robbins had two hits against Jackson Victors and Oak Hill Academy.
For Robbins, who missed most of last season with a knee injury, the success helped boost her confidence and make her more comfortable that she still can play at a high level after the injury.
“I am just happy to be back,” Robbins said. “I missed it so much last year it is crazy. I think I did all right (Saturday).”
Robbins admitted she was scared she wasn’t going to be as good as she was last year before she was injured. She said rehabilitating from the injury and playing basketball in the winter helped her regain her confidence and know she could get back on the court and on the field after a knee injury.
Sammy Lindsey praised the play of Robbins in the field. He said she committed only one error and helped turn a double play.
“I think she feels a lot more confident now that everything is OK,” Lindsey said. “She was kind of scared to push it because she didn’t want to risk three more years for one. … We knew she could play. We just had to get her out there.”
Kayla Brown led Central Academy with a home run against Winston Academy, a game the Lady Vikings won in the fifth inning. Savanah Stapleton, Rigdon, and Coley Disbrow also had singles in the game.
Against Jackson Victors, Lindsey had three doubles, Stapleton had a single and a double, and brown, Gaylord, Ashly Brown, and Peyton Dawkins had singles. Against Oak Hill Academy, Lindsey had a single and a double, Stapleton, Gaylord, and Ashly Brown had doubles, Rigdon had two singles, and Kayla Brown had a single.
Robbins had the team’s only hit in the first game against Leake Academy. Stapleton had the only hit in the second game against Leake Academy, a 4-0 loss. Rigdon was the losing pitcher. She allowed two hits and three walks in four innings. She struck out five.
“Doing so great against all of the other school, that really put my confidence level up a lot, and I think it boosted the rest of the team, too, because we beat some teams we thought we wouldn’t be able to,” Gaylord said. “We also played well against the team we didn’t beat.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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