It?s not as if her resum? was lacking. Even before her senior softball season began this year, Northwest Whitfield pitcher Emily Boyd had compiled enough outstanding moments, eye-popping statistics and major awards in three very successful years on the high school diamond to leave no doubt that her legacy at the school would be close to flawless when she graduated.
Well, certainly not as a pitcher. And considering coaches hardly ever asked her to pick up a bat during games ? when she pinch-hit during a rout in 2011, it was as a novelty ? no one was really expecting anything of her at the plate.
No one, that is, except the Lady Bruins? coaching staff in the midst of a crucial state tournament game.
With top-ranked Northwest facing No. 2 Madison County on Oct. 24 in the second round of the Class 4A tournament in Columbus, Boyd had endured some trouble in the circle. The Lady Bruins committed seven errors before the night was over, and Boyd had problems both with the pitching rubber ? the dirt around it wasn?t holding up, giving her trouble when she landed on her follow-through ? and control, walking in the tying run in the seventh inning to make it 3-3.
Boyd had already hit in the sixth inning, with Lady Bruins coach Jason Brooker deciding that in a tight game he wanted a player he knew wouldn?t be rattled going to the plate, even if she didn?t bat that often. Her first time up, she grounded into a fielder?s choice.
Her next time up was in the top of the eighth with the teams locked in an extra-inning battle, and she slugged a three-run home run as part of a five-run inning. Northwest hung on for an 8-7 win, picked up a 3-2 semifinals victory against West Laurens the next day, then beat Madison County 3-2 in eight innings for the championship the day after that.
That Boyd came through doing something that was anything but routine for her said plenty about Boyd as a competitor.
?I guess I?m stupid for not letting her hit all year, ?Brooker said with a laugh.
That?s OK. Boyd surprised even herself in that moment.
?She throws me this inside pitch and I just rear back and swing as hard as I can, no form or function about it,? Boyd said. ?And the next thing I knew, I was rounding first and everybody was going crazy, and I was like ?Why are they going crazy?? And I looked and the ball was on the other side of the fence. It didn?t feel like a home run. I mean I?ve hit some in practice, and it didn?t feel like that. So I just started jogging around the bases.?
For her accomplishments in all phases of the game ? including, yes, another stellar year of pitching ? Boyd is The Daily Citizen?s All-Area Softball Player of the Year for the fourth straight season.
Joining Boyd on The Daily Citizen?s 2012 All-Area Softball Team are teammates Ashley Conner, Bayli Cruse, Hannah Godfrey, Mallory Souther, Colbie Thomas and Macy Weeks. Also in the lineup of standouts are Christian Heritage?s Rebecca Leonard, Dalton?s Allie Blackwood, Murray County?s Shea Pendley, North Murray?s Megan Pittman and Southeast Whitfield?s Sydney Covington.
The team was selected by the newspaper?s sports staff based on the input of area coaches.
Boyd?s pitching numbers, both this season and for her career, are nothing short of impressive.
She went 28-2 this season ? she helped Northwest finish 35-3 and reach the 100-win mark for the past four years ? while pushing her career mark to 94-27. She struck out 295 batters and walked just 52 in 192 1/3 innings pitched, allowing 34 runs (only 16 were earned) on 82 hits to post a 0.65 ERA. She tossed two no-hitters and a perfect game, pushing those career numbers to 14 and three.
In her four seasons, she had 1,017 strikeouts and a miniscule 0.57 ERA that makes it easy to understand why 2009 to 2012 has gone down as the most successful stretch to date in Northwest fast-pitch softball history.
?I can?t say enough about her,? Brooker said. ?No matter who you play, you?ve got a chance to win when she?s pitching.?
But while Boyd?s successes are easy to point out, how she responded to struggles might say even more.
When Northwest topped Madison County for the state title, it neatly bookended the season that began with another one-run victory against the same team ? 7-6 in eight innings on Aug. 13 at North Georgia College and State University. That was easily remembered.
What might have been forgotten is that it wasn?t a pretty outing for Boyd. She allowed six earned runs on four hits while walking six and striking out as many, although neither she nor the Lady Bruins were helped by a mid-game rain delay that Northwest entered with a 3-1 lead.
Sophomore pitcher Brileigh Baggett got the job done in relief, but Boyd knew that everyone was depending on her. She felt the need to address the team after the game, pledging to be the difference-maker she had been and needed to continue to be if the team was to win state, a goal the Lady Bruins didn?t often talk about this season but certainly had after finishing in the top four twice in the previous three years.
?I was just trying to have this pinpoint accuracy and it messed with my brain, really,? Boyd said. ?Then the rain came along and I was like, what if I lose my control in the rain? And once you think you?re going to lose your control in the rain, that?s exactly what happens.?
Trouble is, the control struggles showed up again in the team?s next game against North Murray in Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe?s annual tournament without a single drop falling from the sky. As it turns out, at least part of Boyd?s self-created mental pressure was coming from her push to please Brooker, who was in his first season as coach after Shane Ramsey had led the Lady Bruins for Boyd?s first three seasons before resigning in the spring.
Boyd?s dad, Greg, Northwest?s pitching coach, tipped Brooker off to the fact that their ace might have been trying a bit too hard to please her new leader. In the North Murray game, Brooker responded in a way that let her know there was nothing to worry about.
?He came out there and he cracked a joke in the middle of this 1-0 game, bases loaded, may have been a 3-2 count,? Boyd said. ?He comes out there and makes some Burger King joke. He doesn?t laugh, he doesn?t do anything, he just walks off the field and just leaves me with that, and I?m standing there laughing.
?It just kind of took my mind off the panic of the game for the moment and let me know that it?s not the end of the world if they do score a run, it?s not the end of the world if we might lose a game. Once I knew that, once I knew that he wouldn?t freak out if something bad happened, it really helped me to be able to relax myself. That was kind of the moment where I kind of understood him.?
Understanding herself is something that Boyd has spent years doing. While it?s hard to believe now, the softball path hasn?t always been a smooth one for her.
Initially fearful of even playing fast-pitch after seeing players beaned during her older sister Sarah?s games, Boyd skipped tee ball but eventually began playing on a fast-pitch team with a group of girls a year ahead of her. Already small for her grade level, Boyd was forced to learn to compete with bigger players and had to work even more to keep up.
In sixth grade, she was thrilled to make the team at North Whitfield Middle but ended up not contributing the way she expected she would. While some might have been discouraged by a lack of pitching time, Boyd became determined.
?I knew that it didn?t really matter why,? she said, ?because if I was better, I would be pitching.?
Boyd worked even harder as the year continued and into the school offseason and travel team schedule, returning in seventh grade with more velocity and the first signs of how dominant she could be.
?I started throwing harder than everybody else, and that?s really when everyone started opening their eyes,? Boyd said. ?Because, you know, you can get people out, and that?s impressive ? but for some reason, everyone loves to see someone that can throw hard, and that was me starting in seventh grade. People always told me ?I didn?t think you would be able to throw that hard and earn that spot like that.? And it never really clicked for me why. I mean, I didn?t really think I?d improved that much. But the radar gun said I did and everybody else did, too, and I guess I started believing it.
?But ever since that point, I really haven?t changed my mentality that much. I?ve been trying to get better every year. And I think that?s really what sparked it.?
However, confidence is always a battle for Boyd, no matter what she might have done in the past. Maybe that?s part of the humble nature she has shown despite her success; maybe it?s her (correct) understanding that everyone makes mistakes and that it doesn?t take many to turn a game around for the worst.
What has helped her is a belief that what has worked in the past will eventually work again. Boyd doesn?t bother trying to make mechanical overhauls in the middle of a game no matter how bad things are, because she knows that?s something to address later in practice.
Not that it?s easy to resist the temptation.
?To be able to not try to change something, for me and most athletes out there, is probably one of the hardest things to do,? Boyd said. ?You have failures most of time because of one little thing. The difference between a strike and ball is the flick of a finger.?
Even in high school, things haven?t always come easy. For one thing, the game has changed.
She began her career with the Lady Bruins just happy to be playing varsity softball, but the standard was set high when she turned in a phenomenal freshman season. Then the following year the GHSA moved the pitching rubber from 40 to 43 feet, making her sophomore campaign one of adjustment as she learned to rely less on velocity and found a way to make a wider variety of pitches work for her.
And even when she made it look easy, it wasn?t an accident.
Brooker recalled showing up for a parents work day at the team?s field this season, pulling up before 8 a.m. on a Saturday and finding Boyd finishing up a pitching session with her dad. Everyone sees the inning-ending, game-winning strikeout. Almost no one was there when Boyd did the things that made such a moment possible.
?I feel like I?ve went to more workouts, I?ve spent more time pitching, just working on every aspect of the game than anybody else,? she said. ?A lot of people may not notice that from just looking, but there?s a lot of hours put behind every single game and there?s a lot of work that leads up to every single pitch.?
Boyd has learned lots of other little things along the way that made a big difference because of her extra work, including finding that a pair of strong legs ? she has worked her way to a 24-inch vertical leap ? have made more of an impact than her right arm, despite what people might choose to focus on.
But for her, softball has also been filled with lessons that have nothing to do with balls or strikes or wins or losses. As she prepares for her next step, having signed a full scholarship with Ole Miss last month, Boyd remains appreciative of the opportunities she?s had, thankful for the support of parents Lindy and Greg Boyd and grateful for an ability she believes is God-given.
She?s also determined to continue to improve and persist in the sport, because for her, softball has been a gateway to a very big world.
?I?ve learned a ton, more than I could learn just from doing school work or anything here in Dalton, because I?ve been all around the country and talked to a lot of people from all kinds of countries and all over this country and learned how to communicate with just about anybody. I?ve been to California and Colorado and Utah and Illinois and Iowa, a bunch of places that are a lot different from here. I?ve learned a whole bunch about traveling and seeing different things that I would never get to see without softball. I?ve learned from experience a bunch of things that kids my age don?t learn.
?I?ve learned how to accept failure, and a lot of kids don?t ever learn that, because without a big success, it?s hard to take failure as seriously ... But I?ve learned how to deal with the failure of knowing you should succeed and not succeeding. I think I can use that in every aspect of life.
?I?ve learned how to compete with people I didn?t think I should beat and people I should have beat and didn?t. I?ve learned how to adapt to all kinds of different environments. I?ve learned how to handle and deal with what I?ve got. I think I?ve learned a whole bunch from softball I would have never learned otherwise.?
In showing that hard work, the right attitude and taking nothing for granted matter as much as athletic skill, Boyd has taught a few lessons, too.
Here?s a look at the rest of this year?s all-area lineup:
? C ? Bayli Cruse, Northwest: In a state championship season packed with special moments, the junior catcher managed to turn in the biggest highlight with one swing of the bat. But Cruse?s contributions went far beyond her walk-off two-run home run to defeat Madison County in the eighth inning of the Class 4A championship game and bring home the school?s first fast-pitch state title.
Cruse pounded out 50 hits, including an area-best nine home runs, while compiling a .413 batting average and striking out just three times in 121 at-bats.
Eleven doubles and a triple helped push her slugging percentage to a whopping .744, and she drove in 43 runs. Factor in outstanding defense and the fact that she deftly handled one of the best, hardest throwing pitchers in the state, and it?s easy to understand why Cruse ? a first-team all-state selection ? earned the all-area nod in a talented group of catchers for local teams in 2012.
?She?s tough,? Brooker said. ?She took a couple foul tips off the mask that scared us, but she worked through it. And not many people ran on her. I think there was six or seven stolen base attempts on her and they stole three. She blocked anything that was in the dirt ... She was a rock back there.?
This is Cruse?s second straight all-area selection after earning honorable mention as a freshman.
? 1B ? Mallory Souther, Northwest: The Lady Bruins have a tough task next season as they try to make up for the loss of the program?s most successful senior class of all time ? Boyd, second baseman Karlie Henson and third baseman Mykeah Johnson ? but Souther is one of several juniors who also played a big part in this year?s run to the title.
Knowing players like her are coming back should give confidence to the Lady Bruins and remind other teams that the exit of three very good seniors doesn?t mean Northwest is left without any talent. Souther hit .286, but her most impressive feat at the plate might have been harnessing her gap power to rack up extra-base hits. Only 11 of her 28 total hits were singles, with 14 doubles, two triples and a home run accounting for the others as she drove in 24 runs.
But she was probably even more valuable in the field, where her range and ability to snare throws at first base made a big difference.
?Honestly, she could play third, shortstop and second, but on this team this year, she benefited us most at first,? Brooker said. ?She saved us a lot. It?s just a comfort thing with her over there. I knew if it was anywhere close she was going to dig it out.?
This is Souther?s first selection to the all-area team.
? 2B ? Sydney Covington, Southeast: The Lady Raiders showed signs of improvement in their first season under head coach Kelley Barton (a Southeast grad) as they won 11 games one year after earning just three victories. This freshman ? the lone ninth-grader in this season?s all-area lineup ? was a big reason why, and having a player like her to build the foundation should give Barton confidence regarding future seasons.
Covington?s contributions for the Lady Raiders were multiple, including pitching, and she was an option at several positions for Barton, including second base. She tallied 81 putouts while compiling an .880 fielding percentage at all positions.
At the plate, she had a .397 batting average and a .461 on-base percentage. In addition to 21 singles, she finished with two each in doubles, triples and home runs, scored 17 runs and drove in six more while hitting from the leadoff spot much of the season.
Just as she trusted Covington at any of several defensive spots, Barton was confident in asking the youngster to bunt or hit.
?Being a freshman leadoff hitter in a varsity game is very nerve-wracking, and a lot of kids couldn?t do it,? Barton said. ?That said a lot about her, because she did do it, and she didn?t play like a freshman. She played like an upperclassman. I placed a lot of confidence in her at the plate.?
? 3B ? Megan Pittman, North Murray: Yet another versatile performer in this year?s all-area lineup, North Murray coach Daphne Winkler said the sophomore would be able to play anywhere in the field or behind the plate. But this year she was most often asked to handle the hot corner, and she did so without getting burned.
Winkler said Pittman?s softball prowess is as much about her mental acumen and ability to read the opposition as her physical skills, and that came in handy at third base as well.
?Anything I ask her to do, she?s going to do it,? Winkler said. ?If she doesn?t know enough about a position, she?ll figure it out. She plays year-round and she plays different positions than even what we ask for her to play for us, but we needed somebody able to cover the bunt, and that?s exactly what she Megan did for us.?
At the plate, the switch hitter had a .479 batting average, with six doubles, a triple and a home run while driving in 12 runs, scoring 22 runs and stealing 14 bases. Her numbers helped North Murray make the state playoffs for the second straight season and also earned a spot on the Class 2A all-state second team.
?You couldn?t ask for a better player,? Winkler said. ?She?s coachable, and whatever we need her to do, she?ll do it.?
This is Pittman?s first all-area selection after earning honorable mention last season.
? SS ? Ashley Conner, Northwest: On the area?s best hitting team, the junior drew a big compliment from her coach.
?The thing about Ashley is she?s probably the most disciplined hitter we?ve got,? Brooker said. ?She?ll stay back on the ball and most of the time she?ll hit it to right-center or center. She won?t get cheated. At the same time, she doesn?t try to kill it.?
Conner finished with 45 hits while compiling a .425 batting average with 10 doubles, three triples and a home run. She also drew a team-best 17 walks, had a .500 on-base percentage and scored 28 runs.
She was also dependable in the field with good range, but one of her most important contributions was the fact that she protected Cruse by hitting behind her in the lineup ? when she doubled against Carrollton in the state playoffs after the Lady Trojans intentionally put Cruse on base, a message was delivered.
?She was great to have behind Bayli in the lineup,? Brooker said.
Another first-team all-state selection, Conner is on the all-area team for the first time after earning honorable mention during both of her seasons as an underclassman.
? OF ? Hannah Godfrey, Northwest: While Godfrey?s speed turned out not to be needed when Cruse slugged her title-winning home run in Columbus, when the inning started Brooker was relieved she was the Lady Bruins? player on second base in the international tiebreaker situation ? because her swiftness often was a factor this season.
One-third of the area?s best outfield, the junior had 10 stolen bases in 2012, but her baserunning abilities went beyond swipes as she capitalized on situations to help score 36 runs while typically hitting in the No. 2 spot, although she also handled the leadoff and ninth slots.
?You can?t teach speed,? Brooker said, ?and once she got on base, there was a good chance we were going to score, especially with Bayli and Ashley behind her.?
Versatile enough to swing away or slap, Godfrey batted .423 with 47 hits, including five doubles and a pair of triples, and she could knock runners over, too ? she finished with 18 RBIs. She also drew 10 walks and had a .472 on-base percentage.
?She was consistent,? Brooker said. ?I don?t remember her ever going into a slump.?
A second-team all-state selection, this is Godfrey?s second all-area appearance. She earned a spot on the team as a freshman and drew honorable mention last season.
? OF ? Colbie Thomas, Northwest: Most coaches would be glad to have one all-state outfielder with outstanding speed, but the Lady Bruins had two. The junior center fielder ? a first-team selection in Class 4A ? joined Godfrey in that regard, grabbing 10 steals, scoring 40 runs and causing trouble for the opposition on the basepaths.
Also like Godfrey, she could swing, slap or bunt, and Brooker was generally confident in letting Thomas decide what was right for the situation.
?I guess that?s the best thing about her, was her versatility,? Brooker said. ?If she was struggling slapping, she could hit. If she was struggling hitting, she could slap.?
Thomas hit well most of the time ? her 49 hits were second on the team to Cruse ? batting .422 with nine doubles, four triples and two home runs for a .621 slugging percentage. But impressively, she hit better than .500 with runners in scoring position, driving in 34 runs. She also drew 15 walks and had an on-base percentage of .500.
On top of all that, her speed was a major defensive asset.
?She could just track down balls, and she had a very good arm with all the range you could want out of a center fielder,? Brooker said. ?If she didn?t get to it, she could get it in quick, and she threw out a couple of runners at second trying to stretch a single into a double, so a lot of teams wouldn?t try to advance on her.?
This is the second straight all-area selection for Thomas, who earned honorable mention as a freshman.
? OF ? Macy Weeks, Northwest: The junior was good at the plate throughout the year, but she was at her best there when it mattered most.
?The thing that sticks about Macy is her batting in the postseason,? Brooker said. ?Starting the state playoffs and all the way through Columbus, she was 12-for-25. And in Columbus, she was 7-for-11. I told the team when the region tournament started that we were 0-0 it didn?t matter what they had done, and I told them the same thing when state started. She stepped it up, especially in Columbus.?
Brooker called Weeks ?every bit as fast as Colbie and Hannah? and said she was good at reading pitches in the dirt and knowing when it was time to run. She had eight stolen bases and scored 24 runs while batting .355 with 39 hits, including seven doubles and a triple. She also drove in 29 runs and drew seven walks.
And she was no weak link on defense, either.
?She saved us a lot in the outfield, too,? Brooker said. ?One play that stuck out was when we were playing Gordon Lee. At the time we were winning 1-0, and the girl tried to tag on her at third and she threw her out at the plate.?
This is the first all-area selection for Weeks, who earned honorable mention as a freshman.
? Designated Hitter ? Shea Pendley, Murray County: The Lady Indians? starting shortstop had a bat that would have been welcomed in any area lineup, with her work in the leadoff spot a big reason why Murray County came one victory shy of making the state playoffs a year after going winless.
?She?s just a playmaker,? Murray County coach Sandra Johnston said. ?She gets on base and finds a way to get around.?
Pendley batted .425, with her 34 hits including eight doubles, four triples and two home runs. She drew 13 walks while compiling a .516 on-base percentage, stole 20 bases and scored 27 runs while driving in 38.
That plate success was earned despite the fact Pendley, a sophomore, was pitched harder this season after having a strong freshman campaign.
And Pendley was a distraction the other team couldn?t ignore on the bases, either.
?She?s smart,? Johnston said. ?She?ll come off the base to where they?ll throw at her, and she?s so far off that her little fingertips are about the only things that get back to the base. She?s not afraid to get a lead, and she?ll make you make her stay on base. You?re either going to do that or she?s going to run, and she?s a smart baserunner.?
This is Pendley?s second straight all-area selection.
? UTILITY ? Rebecca Leonard, Christian Heritage: With a roster that shaded toward youth and inexperience, the Lady Lions? first season in GHSA was destined to be a challenge. The fact that they competed in a tough region only added to that task ? the Class A private school state champion (Mount Pisgah Christian), Class A public school state champion (Gordon Lee) both came out of the Lady Lions? league ? but Leonard gave her team a fighting chance in almost every game.
The senior pitched, caught, played first base and even spent a little time in the outfield, versatility that helped her coach (and father) have some much-needed flexibility when filling in his lineup card.
?That?s the one big things I think she did,? Mike Leonard said. ?She understood that if she was pitching or wherever she was playing, she had to perform in order to keep us in the game. I?d always tease her and tell her, ?We?ve got to have 12 to 14 strikeouts ? got to have it.??
The team?s ?table setter? at the plate, she batted .426 and had a .576 on-base percentage while scoring more than a quarter of the team?s runs for the season and going 12-for-12 in stolen base attempts. She might have had even more in the latter category, but coach Leonard was reluctant to send her often because of the rarity of baserunners.
In the circle, she won six games, struck out 167 batters in 88 1/3 innings pitched and had a 1.27 ERA. She had a .955 fielding percentage overall as well. An honorable mention for the Class A all-state team, she received a full scholarship to Samford.
This is the first all-area selection for Leonard, who earned honorable mention as a junior.
? UTILITY ? Allie Blackwood, Dalton: Like Leonard for the Lady Lions, this senior was a major difference-maker for the Lady Catamounts, who made a surprising run to the state playoffs for the second straight season in large part because of her arm, bat and glove.
Blackwood won nine games in the circle as she allowed 66 runs (just 37 earned) and 107 hits while walking 41 batters and striking out 92 in 115 1/3 innings pitched. She had a 2.25 ERA and was the team?s go-to arm in big games, including when the Lady Cats heated up at the Region 7-4A tournament, where they earned one of the league?s four state berths despite beginning the tournament as the region?s lowest seed.
At the plate, the Austin Peay signee and Class 4A all-state second-teamer batted .423. Her 41 hits included 11 doubles, three triples and a home run. She also drew 11 walks, collected 23 RBIs and scored 18 runs. When she wasn?t pitching, she held down third base without trouble.
?When Allie was on, we were on,? said Dalton coach Jeff McKinney, who led the Lady Cats back to state in his first season in charge after previously serving as an assistant. ?When Allie was hitting, our team was hitting. She was kind of like the gunpowder to our gun. She was a very important part of our program for four years.?
That included serving as a valuable leader this season.
?She just loved the game of softball, and that carried over into how she played,? McKinney said. ?At practice, she always did what you asked of her. She was a leader by example, but she became one of those verbal leaders.?
This is Blackwood?s second straight all-area selection after earning honorable mention as a sophomore.
? Honorable mention: Christian Heritage ? Reagan Benedict, (UTIL, Fr.); Coahulla Creek ? Emily Banks (C, So.), Haley Reece (OF, Jr.); Dalton ? Carson Hagin (1B, Sr.), Sarah Stinnett (OF, Sr.), Destinee Woods (SS, Sr.); Murray County ? Aubrie Osborne (C, Fr.), Ashlee Strong (OF, So.); North Murray ? Kara Deal (C, Jr.), Baylee Sutton (SS, So.); Northwest ? Karlie Henson (2B, Sr.), Mykeah Johnson (3B, Sr.); Southeast ? Chaya Drury (3B, Jr.), Tavi Parris (C, Sr.).
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