Emma Langston (Junior, Gordon Lee) The 2020 Walker County Softball Co-pitcher of the Year
Even in a program as rich in pitching prowess as the Gordon Lee Lady Trojans have been in the past 20-plus years, the statistic itself is still staggering to see on paper. Zero.
A number that more often than not signifies failure on some level means the exact opposite when talking about pitcher Emma Langston, for zero is remarkably the number of losses the right-hander has accumulated in three seasons in the circle for the Lady Trojans.
It all started in Langston’s freshman year when she earned the GACA Class A Public School Pitcher of the Year award. She cemented her place in the rotation by going 17-0 with a 0.85 ERA in 107 innings, finishing with 127 strikeouts against just 19 walks.
The following year, she proved it was no fluke as she ended her sophomore year 15-0 and dropped her ERA to 0.68 in 81.2
innings, racking up 109 more strikeouts and issuing just 14 free passes. Those totals were good enough to earn first team All-state status from the GACA.
Then came this past fall when Langston posted another memorable season.
She put up another 15-0 campaign in 85 innings of work, striking out 113 batters and walking 21, and ending the year with a 1.15 ERA to pick up another first team All-state honor and a third straight All-region selection.
And, for the third consecutive time, she caps the year by sharing the Walker County Pitcher of the Year award with senior teammate Emma Minghini.
“(The year) started out pretty good, but it got better as it went on because I matured and my mental game got better,” she explained. “That really helped.”
She said additional off-season work on her mechanics
and complete confidence in her defense allowed her to concentrate on each batter she faced.
“My pitches moved a lot better and I was really focusing on every pitch,” she added. “I was just throwing strikes and letting my defense work behind me.”
The 2021 season is already shaping up to be an interesting one for Gordon Lee as the team will be without one half of its dynamic pitching duo for the first time in three years.
Minghini will be plying her trade at Georgia Tech and Langston — herself a future Georgia Bulldog — knows the bulk of the responsibility will fall to her. However, it’s a role she’s ready to embrace as she looks to help the Lady Trojans to a 12th GHSA fastpitch title and their seventh in a row.
“I still know my defense will be behind me, so I don’t have to worry about trying to striking everyone out,” she stated. “I just need to focus on not walking a bunch of people, the way I was able to do this year, but the main goal is always the same.”