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03-23-2012, 12:07 AM
Years ago, someone thought up a catchy little phrase to emphasize the importance of an organization working together.
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Junior pitcher Makenzie Peavler had a good year in 2011 but Anderson County coach Brian Glass is pushing her to become more dominating on the pitching rubber.
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âThere is no I in team.â
Last spring, Anderson County softball coach Brian Glass believed he saw his Lady Bearcats overlook that and focus on the fact that âMâ and âEâ are in the letters.
But as it turned out, that didn't work out. The Lady Bearcats went down to defeat in the 30th District Tournament semi-finals, losing 4-0 to a Collins team they had beaten twice before during the year. It was the first time since 2004 that Anderson had not qualified for the Eighth Region Tournament.
Anderson finished 14-18, its first losing campaign since that 2004 season. The Lady Bearcats opened the season Saturday, losing 5-3 to Lexington Catholic but then beating East Jessamine 8-3 in a three-team double-header at Catholic. The Lady Bearcats raise the curtain on their home season tonight, Wednesday, March 21, hosting Boyle County.
âLast year, I just didn't feel we played as a team,â Glass said. âWe had a lot of kids in cliques. It just was not a team atmosphere.â
Glass says that is no longer the case. He's no longer giving helmet stickers for individual excellence. âIf we do something this year, it will be a team-oriented award,â he said.
Practices are high-octane sessions often focusing on the team aspect of a game that requires specialized individual skills.
Off the field, the Lady Bearcats are together more, eating out together and having a lock-in together.
âEverybody is more involved this year,â says junior Hannah Searcy. âThe coaches are more involved, laughing and cutting up.â
That is not to say the Lady Bearcats are running a loose ship. In fact, it is just the opposite. âWe are a lot more strict on the rules and structure,â Glass says. âIf you are a minute late for practice, you run. We don't have any seniors and we are trying to get the kids to understand what it takes to win.â
âLast year, we lost in the district. That hurt because we had beaten them twice. But there are no excuses. We are going to win as a team and we are going to lose as a team. Last year is past and we are going to move on.â
It appears the Lady Bearcats have done that.
âWe are coming together closer as a team,â says junior pitcher Mackenzie Peavler. âWe have gone out to eat a lot. We are having a lockin. Every Saturday, we have breakfast together.â
When the statewide pre-season poll came out, it seemed strange to not see Anderson County listed among the Top 25. The Lady Bearcats did receive some votes but Glass said that was not really warranted, given the team's finish a year ago.
Yet, he's highly optimistic that the Lady Bearcats will be a big-time factor in the chase for the Eighth Region championship when the tournaments start in mid-May. âWe have a long way to go, but yes, I think we will surprise some people,â Glass said.
âLast year was a huge disappointment to us,â Peavler said. âI don't think we were mentally ready. It was stupid little mistakes that got to us.â
For most of the last decade, Anderson has been one of the dominant teams in the Eighth Region, winning two regional championships and finishing as runner-up two other times. But most of the current Anderson players were not around the last time the Lady Bearcats made the state tournament, finishing fifth in 2008.
Glass is confident his team will score runs. âI feel good about our hitting,â he says. âWe have four or five kids that can steal bases.â
âI think we are going to be strong through the lineup,â Searcy said.
Glass said that in a recent intra-squad scrimmage, Alyssa Vest hit a ball over the scoreboard in left field while Mackenzie Peavler tagged a shot off the scoreboard. They are projected to be hitting in the bottom half of the Anderson batting order.
But, Glass cautioned with smile, âYou never really know until you are hitting against another team.â
What Glass does know is that his team has enormous potential. He has speed at what he expects to be the top of the order in sophomore center-fielder Molly Burkhead and left-fielder Anna-Marie Hyatt, a junior. Burkhead, Glass says, has set a goal of having the most steals in a season by an Anderson player.
He knows he has some power in the middle of the order with junior third baseman Kelsey New, seventh-grader Bailey Curry, and juniors Jessie Crouch and Searcy.
Curry and Searcy will both see action at catcher and first base, while Crouch is slated to be the right fielder.
âI have told Kelsey she is going to have to hit around .500. If she hits .500, we will win a lot of ball games.â
Vest and Corrin Robinson, both freshmen, and Peavler, a junior pitcher, figure to round out the lineup. âWe can move Corrin around the order. She can hit anywhere,â Glass said, adding that he is considering using Robinson, who has started since the seventh grade, at the bottom of the order as what amounts to a second leadoff hitter.
Robinson and Vest are interchangeable at second base and shortstop, Glass says.
But as the season begins, the question mark for Anderson is its defense. The loss to Collins underscored that last year when the Titans plated four unearned runs.
Glass says things will be better. For one thing, his team is more experienced, but older. âWe have a really young team again,â he says. âWe don't have any seniors.â
But at the same time, the entire starting lineup from last year is back.
Curry returns behind the plate and Glass thinks she could be a gem before her career is over. âShe has gotten much stronger,â he says. âShe bench presses 125 pounds, but she is so young. She is just 12 years old, and sometimes I forget how young she is. I have been working on her becoming more vocal, because we are trying to get a seventh-grader to take charge. A catcher has to take charge, but she definitely has the ability.â
First base was up in the air as the season started on Saturday. Eighth-graders Kaci Currens and Katelyn Harrod were battling Searcy and freshman Madison Brummett for the nod.
Glass said that even if she is not at first or behind the plate, Searcy will be in the lineup as the designated hitter. âShe is one of the best hitters we have got,â he said.
Robinson, Vest and New are all steady while Glass says the outfield âhas gotten tons better.â Glass also noted that he is trying to find a place for speedsters Marissa Walker and Lexan Overby in the Anderson lineup as well as hitting machine Courtney Gale Hawkins, an eighth-grader. âShe is one of the best hitters we've got,â Glass says.
Peavler, the Lady Bearcats' top pitcher last year, will need to become more dominant if the Lady Bearcats are to challenge Oldham County and Walton-Verona for regional supremacy. âOne of the goals I set for Mackenzie is to have a strikeout per inning,â Glass says. âIn fast-pitch, you have to have a dominating pitcher. You have got to make hitters chase pitches.
âMackenzie has developed a bit of a rise ball. So far she has pitched well this year.â
Setting those individual goals is not inconsistent with putting the team first, according to Glass. âWe have had individual evaluations,â Glass says. âWe had the girls set goals and what they want to accomplish. Everything is about the team but you have to have individual stats. The team is first.â
Glass says his team has the talent to make a big run, but the road to excellence is often littered with teams having good talent.
âLast year, we had a lot of young kids playing. Anytime, you have young kids playing, you will have playing time issues,â Glass said. âSome of those kids did not come back, but the kids that are back are buying into what we are doing.
âWe have to trust in each other and believe in what I am doing. I have seen a big difference this year.âhttp://www.theandersonnews.com/content/s...title-2012
File photo
Junior pitcher Makenzie Peavler had a good year in 2011 but Anderson County coach Brian Glass is pushing her to become more dominating on the pitching rubber.
Buy this photo
1 of 5
âThere is no I in team.â
Last spring, Anderson County softball coach Brian Glass believed he saw his Lady Bearcats overlook that and focus on the fact that âMâ and âEâ are in the letters.
But as it turned out, that didn't work out. The Lady Bearcats went down to defeat in the 30th District Tournament semi-finals, losing 4-0 to a Collins team they had beaten twice before during the year. It was the first time since 2004 that Anderson had not qualified for the Eighth Region Tournament.
Anderson finished 14-18, its first losing campaign since that 2004 season. The Lady Bearcats opened the season Saturday, losing 5-3 to Lexington Catholic but then beating East Jessamine 8-3 in a three-team double-header at Catholic. The Lady Bearcats raise the curtain on their home season tonight, Wednesday, March 21, hosting Boyle County.
âLast year, I just didn't feel we played as a team,â Glass said. âWe had a lot of kids in cliques. It just was not a team atmosphere.â
Glass says that is no longer the case. He's no longer giving helmet stickers for individual excellence. âIf we do something this year, it will be a team-oriented award,â he said.
Practices are high-octane sessions often focusing on the team aspect of a game that requires specialized individual skills.
Off the field, the Lady Bearcats are together more, eating out together and having a lock-in together.
âEverybody is more involved this year,â says junior Hannah Searcy. âThe coaches are more involved, laughing and cutting up.â
That is not to say the Lady Bearcats are running a loose ship. In fact, it is just the opposite. âWe are a lot more strict on the rules and structure,â Glass says. âIf you are a minute late for practice, you run. We don't have any seniors and we are trying to get the kids to understand what it takes to win.â
âLast year, we lost in the district. That hurt because we had beaten them twice. But there are no excuses. We are going to win as a team and we are going to lose as a team. Last year is past and we are going to move on.â
It appears the Lady Bearcats have done that.
âWe are coming together closer as a team,â says junior pitcher Mackenzie Peavler. âWe have gone out to eat a lot. We are having a lockin. Every Saturday, we have breakfast together.â
When the statewide pre-season poll came out, it seemed strange to not see Anderson County listed among the Top 25. The Lady Bearcats did receive some votes but Glass said that was not really warranted, given the team's finish a year ago.
Yet, he's highly optimistic that the Lady Bearcats will be a big-time factor in the chase for the Eighth Region championship when the tournaments start in mid-May. âWe have a long way to go, but yes, I think we will surprise some people,â Glass said.
âLast year was a huge disappointment to us,â Peavler said. âI don't think we were mentally ready. It was stupid little mistakes that got to us.â
For most of the last decade, Anderson has been one of the dominant teams in the Eighth Region, winning two regional championships and finishing as runner-up two other times. But most of the current Anderson players were not around the last time the Lady Bearcats made the state tournament, finishing fifth in 2008.
Glass is confident his team will score runs. âI feel good about our hitting,â he says. âWe have four or five kids that can steal bases.â
âI think we are going to be strong through the lineup,â Searcy said.
Glass said that in a recent intra-squad scrimmage, Alyssa Vest hit a ball over the scoreboard in left field while Mackenzie Peavler tagged a shot off the scoreboard. They are projected to be hitting in the bottom half of the Anderson batting order.
But, Glass cautioned with smile, âYou never really know until you are hitting against another team.â
What Glass does know is that his team has enormous potential. He has speed at what he expects to be the top of the order in sophomore center-fielder Molly Burkhead and left-fielder Anna-Marie Hyatt, a junior. Burkhead, Glass says, has set a goal of having the most steals in a season by an Anderson player.
He knows he has some power in the middle of the order with junior third baseman Kelsey New, seventh-grader Bailey Curry, and juniors Jessie Crouch and Searcy.
Curry and Searcy will both see action at catcher and first base, while Crouch is slated to be the right fielder.
âI have told Kelsey she is going to have to hit around .500. If she hits .500, we will win a lot of ball games.â
Vest and Corrin Robinson, both freshmen, and Peavler, a junior pitcher, figure to round out the lineup. âWe can move Corrin around the order. She can hit anywhere,â Glass said, adding that he is considering using Robinson, who has started since the seventh grade, at the bottom of the order as what amounts to a second leadoff hitter.
Robinson and Vest are interchangeable at second base and shortstop, Glass says.
But as the season begins, the question mark for Anderson is its defense. The loss to Collins underscored that last year when the Titans plated four unearned runs.
Glass says things will be better. For one thing, his team is more experienced, but older. âWe have a really young team again,â he says. âWe don't have any seniors.â
But at the same time, the entire starting lineup from last year is back.
Curry returns behind the plate and Glass thinks she could be a gem before her career is over. âShe has gotten much stronger,â he says. âShe bench presses 125 pounds, but she is so young. She is just 12 years old, and sometimes I forget how young she is. I have been working on her becoming more vocal, because we are trying to get a seventh-grader to take charge. A catcher has to take charge, but she definitely has the ability.â
First base was up in the air as the season started on Saturday. Eighth-graders Kaci Currens and Katelyn Harrod were battling Searcy and freshman Madison Brummett for the nod.
Glass said that even if she is not at first or behind the plate, Searcy will be in the lineup as the designated hitter. âShe is one of the best hitters we have got,â he said.
Robinson, Vest and New are all steady while Glass says the outfield âhas gotten tons better.â Glass also noted that he is trying to find a place for speedsters Marissa Walker and Lexan Overby in the Anderson lineup as well as hitting machine Courtney Gale Hawkins, an eighth-grader. âShe is one of the best hitters we've got,â Glass says.
Peavler, the Lady Bearcats' top pitcher last year, will need to become more dominant if the Lady Bearcats are to challenge Oldham County and Walton-Verona for regional supremacy. âOne of the goals I set for Mackenzie is to have a strikeout per inning,â Glass says. âIn fast-pitch, you have to have a dominating pitcher. You have got to make hitters chase pitches.
âMackenzie has developed a bit of a rise ball. So far she has pitched well this year.â
Setting those individual goals is not inconsistent with putting the team first, according to Glass. âWe have had individual evaluations,â Glass says. âWe had the girls set goals and what they want to accomplish. Everything is about the team but you have to have individual stats. The team is first.â
Glass says his team has the talent to make a big run, but the road to excellence is often littered with teams having good talent.
âLast year, we had a lot of young kids playing. Anytime, you have young kids playing, you will have playing time issues,â Glass said. âSome of those kids did not come back, but the kids that are back are buying into what we are doing.
âWe have to trust in each other and believe in what I am doing. I have seen a big difference this year.âhttp://www.theandersonnews.com/content/s...title-2012
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03-23-2012, 12:07 AM
[Image: http://www.theandersonnews.com/sites/www...er01_0.JPG]Junior pitcher Makenzie Peavler had a good year in 2011 but Anderson County coach Brian Glass is pushing her to become more dominating on the pitching rubber.
03-23-2012, 12:07 AM
03-23-2012, 12:08 AM
[Image: http://www.theandersonnews.com/sites/www...OC02_0.JPG]Corrin Robinson, shown against Oldham County last year, is expected to be a major contributor to the Anderson lineup, whether she plays shortstop or second base.
03-23-2012, 12:08 AM
[Image: http://www.theandersonnews.com/sites/www...urry_0.JPG]Anderson County is high on seventh-grade catcher Bailey Curry.
03-23-2012, 12:09 AM
[Image: http://www.theandersonnews.com/sites/www...Searcy.JPG]Hannah Searcy works out in the Lady Bearcat field house before the season.
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