Veterans, rookies aiming to continue Lady Trojans’ streak
With 18 consecutive region titles (and counting), 11 state titles (including the last six in a row) and nearly 600 career victories to her credit, Gordon Lee head coach Dana Mull knows a thing or two about constructing winning softball teams.
She knows that it not only takes talent, but the right amount of team chemistry to reach the ultimate goal. And as she gets set to begin her 19th season at the helm, Mull has somewhat of a different challenge awaiting her and her staff this fall.
More specifically, taking a solid group of veteran upperclassmen and weaving them together with a large group of talented underclassmen to keep the Lady Trojans at the top of the mountain in the Class A Public School division.
“I think this team is as equally as talented, but we’re very young,” she said. “The last couple of years, we’ve had girls that had been around for a while. This year, the number of freshmen we have equals the rest of our team, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But hopefully with the leadership we have we’ll get those freshmen used to how we do things, get them ready for the region tournament and, hopefully, ready for state.
“We might show our youth at times this year, but I really think that, in time, we’re going to end up being where we need to be.”
Gordon Lee will have just three seniors on the roster, but they are a trio that have played in a number of big games and have come up with a number of big moments over the past three seasons.
It will start in the circle where future Georgia Bulldog Emma Langston is back for her fourth season as a starter, having yet to lose a game as a Gordon Lee pitcher. She was 15-0 last year with a 1.15 ERA and recorded 113 strikeouts against just 21 walks in 85 innings pitched.
A first team All-Region and All-State selection and the Walker County Co-Pitcher of the Year, Langston can also handle the bat. She hit .366 last fall with 24 RBIs and four homers among her 16 extra-base hits and will play first base when not in the circle.
Her battery mate, senior Allie Farrow, was the Walker County Player of the Year as well as a first team All-Region selection and a second team All-State pick in 2020 after batting .495 with 18 doubles, two homers and 44 RBIs.
Outfielder Anniston Hudson had a breakout season last year, hitting .375 with three homeruns, including a big one in the state
championship game to help Gordon Lee put it out of reach. She also picked up 13 RBIs and scored 29 runs to earn second team All-Region honors.
The junior class is also being counted on to step up as leaders for the young team. That class features outfielder Emma Phillips (.352, 14 stolen bases, 14 runs scored), a second team All-Region selection last fall. Chloee Fryar will also be an outfielder with
the Lady Trojans, while the rest of the class includes middle infielder Ryleigh Ledford, second baseman Sophia McDonald, utility player Alana McLeod and corner infielder Kaitlyn Wagoner, who will also see some innings in the circle.
Among the sophomores, pitcher Sydney Garrett threw some varsity innings a year ago, while the rest of the class features corner infielder Abigail Ashley and catcher Dallas Wagoner.
The remainder of the players are all freshmen. That list includes outfielders Kyliee Fryar, Gisele Tankersley, Lillian McCullough and Camryn Caradine, first basemen Kate Chambers and Macartney Angel, second baseman Jenny Beth Freeman, shortstop
Gracie Helton, third baseman Tenslee Wilson, middle infielder Ella Grace Hixon and corner infielders Sadie Hughes and Charslie McElhaney. Wilson and McElhaney can also catch, while Angel and McCullough will also do some pitching.
Kevin McElhaney and Thomas Gray will also be back in their roles as assistant coaches this season.
As is usually the case with any Gordon Lee team Mull has ever coached, pitching will be a strength, especially when it’s backed up by a standout catcher behind the dish.
“Both of them have played since they were young,” she said of Langston and Farrow, “so they know what to expect and they have the potential
to be big leaders for us this year. I think our defense will be strong and I think we’ll have a little more team speed than we’ve had in the past. That’s the kind of ball that I like to play, creating runs by bunting, stealing bases, moving runners over and letting other teams make mistakes. I think that could be a team strength for us and I think we have the potential to hit the ball.
“We may not settle into a normal starting rotation for a while because we’re probably going to be mixing it up here and there until we figure out what works and what doesn’t. I think this team could potentially be good all the way around, but there’s just some unknowns at this point.”
Whether that potential eventually results in a seventh consecutive state championship later this fall awaits to be seen, but as any coach will tell you, all the talent in the world needs the team chemistry to go with it.
“I think the key for this team, since we do have so many new ones, is how quickly they can come together and be a close-knit team,” Mull added. “That’s one reason why we were good last year. Yes, we had the talent, but we meshed very well together. We have 12 freshmen and 12 other players to make up the rest of the roster and we’re working on bringing it all together. When that can happen, I really think big things can happen for this team.”