Lafayette’s Howell looking to earn her stripes with Lady Tigers
After a junior season that saw her hit a robust .456 with a double, three triples and 30 runs scored, Lafayette’s Marquila Howell was hoping for another big year as a senior.
And did she ever deliver. Howell finished her final season in Orange-and-black with a .537 average, three doubles, eight triples, two homeruns, 14 RBIS, 42 runs scored and 15 stolen bases. It was enough to land her not only a spot on the AllRegion team as the 6-AAAA Player of the Year, but a spot on the All-state first team in Class 4A as well.
But perhaps the biggest prize for Howell was delivered on Thursday in the form of scholarship papers to continue her playing career at local junior college powerhouse Chattanooga State.
“All of the awards she got this year were well deserved,” Lafayette head coach Meagan Base said. “I don’t think that she thought she was going to have as good of a year as she did, but she just came up big for us in big-time situations. She was a rally-starter and she’s probably one of my favorite players that I’ve ever coached. I’m really going to miss her.”
Blythe Golden, head coach at Chattanooga State, called Howell “a special player.”
“I think we lucked out and got a really quality player,” she said. “We found Marquila late in the recruiting process. I came out and watched them play against Heritage and she hit a triple off the fence.”
“(Signing to play in college) hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Howell said. “I haven’t had time to process everything yet, but I’m excited and happy to get to continue to play softball.”
Howell said Chattanooga State “just felt like home”.
“From the first time I stepped on campus,” she