Heritage focused on new season, new team
After a decade of frustrating finishes at the state tournament in Columbus, the stars finally aligned for the Heritage Generals last October as they capped a 25-6 season with the program’s longawaited first GHSA state championship.
Now, nearly 10 months later, the Generals are hoping to deliver an encore performance.
Repeating, of course, will certainly not be easy. Heritage will have to replace some of their top power hitters and, because a previous injury to Kaylie Frogge will not allow her to play again this season, third-year head coach Tanner Moore will go into the 2019 season without any available seniors. However, an outstanding crop of young, but seasoned veterans are back looking to cement the Generals’ spot among the top programs in all of Class 4A.
“We still have 11 returning players who have been there, who have seen the fire and know what it takes, plus they are really good leaders too,” Moore said. “So I’m looking at them as big keys to showing our newcomers what this program is about, how we practice and how we go about things.”
Moore said that an offseason’s worth of work in weight room has paid off with a much stronger and faster team.
“We’ve had a great summer,” he continued. “The girls have really worked hard in the weight room. It’s a hardworking group and I’m very proud of them for that. I’m ready to see what they can do on the field.”
A good deal of the team leadership will be shouldered jointly by a large group of juniors.
Pitcher Rachel Gibson was last year’s Region 6-AAAA and Class 4A Pitcher of the Year after posting a 21-1 record with 238 strikeouts and a 1.29 ERA in 141 innings of work. She will also be a mainstay in the lineup after hitting .400 with six doubles, four triples, seven homers and 30 RBIS as a junior. Not surprisingly, she is currently being recruited by a number of major college programs, including several in the Southeastern
The past few seasons have seen a resurgence for the Lafayette High School volleyball program, including back-to-back seasons with 40 or more victories.
And while winning lots of matches is all well and good with the Lady Ramblers, frankly, it’s not enough.
You see, for all of those victo