Pennsville junior catcher collects her 100th career hit in Eagles’ eighth straight win, 10-8 over Williamstown
MONDAY SALEM COUNTY SOFTBALL
Pennsville 10, Williamstown 8
Delsea 8, Woodstown 0
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
WILLIAMSTOWN – It wasn’t the longest or the hardest ball Kylie Harris has hit in her high school softball career, but it certainly was her most significant.
Harris, a junior catcher, flared a single into short right field in the third inning for the 100th career hit in Pennsville’s 10-8 Easter Monday win at Williamstown.
The ball floated into right field like a simple pop up then fell safely between the second baseman rushing out, the right fielder rushing over and the right field line. But like they say in golf, there are no pictures on the scorecard or in the scorebook.
“It might be the ugliest one-hundreth hit, but it’s a one-hundreth hit,” Harris said. “So, a hit’s a hit.”
Harris needed only one for the milestone entering the game and got it in her second at bat. It looked like she had it in her first, but was called out on a slow roller to third. Video of the potential historic hit appeared to show her beating the throw to first by a step, but the field umpire called her out and after a brief conference with the plate ump upheld the call.
“I was hoping (it was) not (the milestone hit) because that was not a great hit,” she said. “I felt pretty speedy, I was busting my tail down that line, but it wasn’t pretty.”
But it was productive. The play produced the Eagles’ second run of the inning after back-to-back extra-base hits by Lily Edwards and Graillyn Weber to open the game, but she still was stuck on 99. She wound up going 2-for-5 in the game and now has 101 hits – in only three seasons.
After landing at first base with the hit that did count, she was first congratulated by coach Lisa Doran. Eagles head coach Beth Jackson walked over to the bag and presented her the ball and her parents and teammates recognized the feat with a big banner.
“I think it’s amazing,” Harris said. “Being with this group of girls and accomplishing that, it means the world to me. Having these girls with me to be there for it, it’s a feeling like no other. Having this support group around me it really makes it just 10 times better.”
The Eagles don’t have a banner recognizing their 100-hit softball players, but anecdotally Jackson knows of several – two of whom are her and her sister. The school record for hits is 180 by Hall of Famer Courtney Hankins – Harris’ hitting coach – and with the rest of this season and all of next year ahead of her, Harris has a chance at that.
She had 32 hits as a freshman, 40 last year and 29 at basically the halfway point of this season. She’s had a least two hits in every game this season. She’s batting .690 this season and .500 for her career.
“The next step is getting wins, hitting for my team,” she said. “It’s all about the girls for me.”
| Pennsville (10-2) | 213 004 0- | 10 | 13 | 4 |
| Williamstown (6-3) | 100 020 5- | 8 | 9 | 3 |
Riverview Sports News 