Lexington Catholic softball freshman stepping up even more after stellar debut season
Lexington Catholic’s Abby Hammond had a sensational debut season a year ago for the softball Knights, leading the entire state with a 0.77 ERA and helping her team win the 43rd District championship.
Not bad for an eighth-grader.
But how does someone top something like that?
“I don’t know if her goal is necessarily to top it,” LexCath coach Emery Emmert said. “I think her goal is always just to come out, stay focused and work hard. You know, that’s what she does. When you have great talent, and you have a great work ethic, that’s the result.”
As a freshman, Hammond has remained a dominant force in the circle while also becoming a more significant offensive threat as No. 11 LexCath’s leadoff hitter.
Thursday against district-rival Tates Creek, she put both on display by going 4-for-4 at the plate with a triple and a home run while striking out 10 in a 5-3 win in which all the opposing runs were unearned.
Hammond’s homer came in the bottom of the seventh after she pitched her way out of a two-on, no-out jam by striking out two and getting the final batter to line out to the second baseman. She led off the bottom of the sixth with a blast over the right-field fence.
“For the fielding part, I just had a lot of confidence in my teammates and my defense. I always have faith in them,” Hammond said. “But for the offensive part, my goal was to get on base, because that’s your job when you’re up to bat first. And Coach Em just told me to get on base, so I was just trying to square the ball up and hit something hard up the middle and happened to hit a home run.”
The homer was Hammond’s third of the season, leading the team. Her .525 batting average is second behind sophomore shortstop Kinley Willoughby’s .536. As a team, the Knights hit .334, helping them to a 9-4 record with losses to No. 2 Ballard, No. 16 Anderson County, Highlands and out-of-state Beech (Hendersonville, Tenn.).
“I’ve got eight that I think are going to hit a home run every time they get up. But they don’t, obviously,” Emmert said, smiling. “But they practice hard and they kind of have that attitude. And they fight.”
Unusual offseason
Hammond has pitched all but three innings, building a 9-3 record with a 0.99 ERA, so far. Emmert said she relied primarily on three pitches last season. She’s adding to the repertoire this year even in an offseason where she split time working on softball while becoming a starting guard on the basketball team.
“The transition was tough. I had to practice softball a lot during basketball season just because pitching is difficult and I had to keep up my practicing,” Hammond said. “It took a little toll on my body, but I’ve recovered now. We have some trainers here that really helped me out, so I’m feeling good now.”
Lexington Catholic is breaking in a new catcher who’s completely new to the position after the graduation of Ella Emmert, one of the coach’s daughters. Losing Ella Emmert, now at Kentucky, was also like losing an assistant coach, Coach Emmert said, because she called all the pitches, too.
The new dynamic with senior catcher Emily Lammers has been successful, though. And Lammers is hitting .314 and had a hit and two RBI on Thursday against Tates Creek
“She’s doing great,” Coach Emmert said. “She’s figuring out how tough it is to be a catcher just on the legs and the core and everything else. … She’s got the athleticism. She’s got the skill. I mean, she’s a very talented player. She could play anywhere.”
As an eighth-grader with a senior leader behind the plate catching her last season, Hammond said she didn’t really feel any pressure.
“Coming in as an eighth-grader, I didn’t have any expectations. And now, I’m just setting the bar higher this year. So I’m hoping to come back stronger.”
Lafayette showdown
Monday, Lexington Catholic will face No. 8 Lafayette, its chief 43rd District rival. The Knights beat the Generals three times last season, but they dropped the final showdown in the 11th Region championship game as the Generals pulled out a 2-0 win, the region crown and the state tournament berth.
The first tilt of their regular-season, two-game set this year went Lexington Catholic’s way 6-5 in 10 innings. Visiting Lafayette twice took the lead in the extra frames only to see LexCath respond to tie it each time and get the winning run on a bases-loaded walk with two out in the 10th.
Coach Emmert knows games don’t always go their way, but he tries to instill the mentality that will keep helping his players be successful.
“Just keep grinding. Keep your head down, no matter what’s going to happen,” Emmert said. “Be task-oriented, not necessarily outcome-oriented, because you can’t can’t control the factors out here. There’s a lot of things you can’t control here.”
Monday’s game
No. 11 Lexington Catholic (9-4) at No. 8 Lafayette (9-3), 6 p.m.
