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Get on board with Extra Inning Softball’s regular feature, The Last Inning!
We are scouring the Internet and Social Media and keeping our ears to the street for the latest going on in the softball community.
To contribute information, insights, thoughts or content ideas, email us at [email protected] and also [email protected].
Here’s our TLI for Monday, Feb. 21 (President’s Day, 2022!):
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EXTRA SPOTLIGHT: ABBY HAMMOND
2025 P Abby Hammond was named the Kentucky Class 2A State Player of the Year and helped Lexington Catholic High win a District title and reach the regional championship final last season as an 8th-grader.
She also played up with Southern Force 14U National against some of the top competition in the country last summer.
Hammond recently talked to Extra Inning Softball about her softball journey so far….
EXTRA SPOTLIGHT Q&A
Name: Abby Hammond
Hometown: Lexington, KY
High School: Lexington Catholic High
Club Team: Southern Force 16U National
Graduation Year: 2025
Height: 5-foot-8
Position: P
Nickname: Ab
Twitter: @abbyhammond23
Honors: KY Class 2A State Player of the Year, KY 1st Team All-State, 1st Team All-District, District Tournament MVP, Regional All-Tournament Team and Extra Inning Softball All-Summer Team (2021).
Travel Ball Fall Stats: Pitched 51 IP, 68 Ks, 7 walks, 1.23 ERA and a .902 WHIP and hit .346 AVG with 2 HRs and 13 RBIs.
High School Highlights: Had a 0.77 ERA (1st in state), .621 WHIP, 182 IP, 235 Ks, 17 walks and 20 ERs and hit .355 with 5 HRs, 4 triples, 10 doubles and 29 RBIs.
Tell us about your travel team/organization and how you became involved with them…
I started playing with Southern Force three years ago after my Dad got in touch with Dale Palmer about starting a team based out of Kentucky. Now, we have players from Kentucky, Alabama and around the South that can play at an extremely high level. We have a lot of fun traveling the country and playing softball together.
Can you talk about the tough competition you faced in travel ball and how you feel about it?
There is a special feeling when you get the chance to play against really great competition at the elite events in front of college coaches. It really brings out the best in me because of the intensity and focus needed to compete. I know that it will prepare me to play college softball.
Can you talk about your your high school softball experience?
I am really lucky to play in a program like Lexington Catholic. My teammates are talented and very supportive. Coach (Emery) Emmert focuses on our improvement and having fun. Because of the pandemic, my 8th-grade season (2021) was my first high school season. Our team finished one game short of the state tournament.
I’m very proud to represent my school as the KY 2A Player of the Year and be 1st Team All-State. It was a very successful season that I will never forget. Our goal is to make the state tournament this year and win a championship. It will be tough because our region will include at least three of our state’s top 10 teams.
Do you have a secret talent/skill?
I’m a pretty good juggler.
What’s your most memorable softball story?
My most memorable softball story is hitting six home runs at the Boulder IDT last summer. I was very excited to help my team against some amazing competition.
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NEWS & NOTES
***Sheldon High in Sacramento, CA, which has 15 league championships, eight section titles and three section runner-up finishes, looks like one of the top teams in the state and one of the top teams in NorCal.
The Huskies have nine returning starters, including both pitchers, and all of them are D1 commits to go along with three juniors, who are D1 commits. Sheldon hit .432, hit 38 home runs and had a ERA of 1.85 as a team.
Some of Sheldon’s top players are San Jose State-bound C/SS Reina Zermeno (.500, 8 HRs, 23 RBIs, .953 SLG), UC Santa Barbara-bound MIF/OF Jazlyn “Jazzy” Fines (.457), Arizona-bound OF Dakota Kennedy (.581, 9 HRs, 41 RBIs, 1.175 SLG), UC San Diego-committed 2023 P/OF Jaylee Ojo (.523, 11 HRs, 45 RBIs, 1.230 SLG), Cal-bound MIF/3B D’Auna Johnson (.525, 5 HRs, 30 RBIs, .912 SLG) and Sacramento State-bound P/OF Imani Black (.429).
The Huskies also have Loyola Marymount-committed 2023 MIF/OF Sakora “Coco” Harvell, Santa Clara-committed 2023 C/MIF/OF Jaylee Marshall, Jackson State-bound UT Bejia Allen and Delaware State-bound UT Breanna “Bre” Romero.
*** Scroll down to read more in today’s News & Notes plus more verbal commits to the Pac-12, Mountain West and more!