If the Thomson High Lady
Bulldog Varsity Softball team
wants to contend for the region
championship this year, several
big vacancies from last yearıs
squad must be filled.
However, Lady Bulldog
Head Coach Lisa Cody is very
optimistic about what lies ahead
for her squad.
³We have about a half a dozen
holes to fill from our graduating
class of a year ago,² Coach Cody
said. ³The majority of these
positions are in our infield.²
She said sheıs most concerned
about the shortstop spot.
³Antoinette Anderson was
our player there last year, and
its going to be hard to fill
the shoes of a player that led
the team in RBIıs, steals and
batting average,² she said.
The other positions Coach
Cody and her staff must work
on to fill are at third base,
first base and two outfield
positions.
The job of finding these
replacements began last week,
as the varsity and junior varsity
squads held a week-long tryout
at the THS Athletic Complex.
A total of 45 young ladies
participated in the workout
session to earn a spot on one of
the Lady Bulldog rosters.
³During these four stressful
days, we worked on many areas
of softball,² Coach Cody said.
³The majority of the time, we
taught the basic fundamentals
of the game, such as catching,
pitching, bunting, running and
run-downs.²
Coach Cody added some
harder tests later in the week
in hopes of finding the best
players.
³All our girls made it hard
this week for us to make our
decisions,² Coach Cody said.
³We threw in these harder
drills at the end of the week
to ease our decision-making
process. But all of these girls
had great ability.²
Finally, the completed list of
team members was posted last
Thursday night around 8 p.m.
A total of 32 young ladies made
the list for the varsity and junior
varsity squads. Included in
that list are 10 freshmen, seven
sophomores, eight juniors and
seven seniors.
The large group of freshmen
includes Jerica Bell, Krista
Belton, Casey Brooks, Mary
Catherine Finnerty, Kambrey
Hawney, Courtney Morey,
Gloria Rowland, Ashley
Sturgis, Nichole Usry and
Jordan Barnes.
The sophomore class
members are Mary Beth
Blasingame, Callie Gilmer,
Jennifer Keith, Samantha Key,
Jessica Newsome, Dominique
Reese and Becky Williams.
The juniors include Tiffany
Davis, Hope Harrison, Wy Wy
Haynes, Kosha Hudson, Terra
Rayford, Shannon Williams,
Shaina Williams and Samantha
Parker.
The senior Lady Bulldog
players are Holly Coleman,
Stephanie Gibson, Shakina
Grant, Peaches Jones, Sarah
Beth McAvoy, Nike Taylor and
Tiffany Timmerman.
Managers for the Lady
Bulldogs are Chelsea Jones and
Ashley Inglett.
The Lady Bulldog varsity
squad is returning only six
players from the 2003 squad.
They are Blasingame, Grant,
Taylor, Timmerman, Shannon
Williams and her twin sister,
Shaina.
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Tiffany Timmerman, a Lady Bulldog senior, catches a ball during warm-ups.
Photo by Jason B. Smith
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³Based on last yearıs
performances, this squad will
be led in speed by Nike Taylor
and the Williams twins,²
Coach Cody said. ³Taylor is in
her fourth year with us, and we
are expecting great things from
her. We are going to rely on her
leadership ability on offense and
defense to get us through our
tough schedule.
³The power for our team will
fall on the shoulders of three
athletes, Taylor, Rayford and
Parker, who is a transfer student
from Tennessee,² she said.
This year, the Lady Bulldogs
will face tough competition
in the Region 3-AAA North
schedule. Along with Thomson
in this region are Harlem,
Hephzibah, Cross Creek, Butler, Glenn Hills and Richmond Academy.
The teams that make up Region 3-AAA South are Burke County, Jefferson County and four schools from the Savannah area.
³We are hoping to do better this year in region play than last season,² Coach Cody said. ³We had a below .500 record, and were eliminated in the region tournament after three games.²
The Lady Bulldogs will begin their 2004 season next week in a tournament at Jefferson County High School near Louisville. Thomson High will play its first game of the tourney on Tuesday, Aug. 10.
The first region game for the Lady Bulldogs will be Aug. 17 at Richmond Academy, while the teamıs first home game will be Aug. 24 against Glenn Hills.
