By Dan Smith

The Charles Henderson High varsity softball team took to the road Monday and Tuesday and returned home with two wins, defeating Greenville 13-7 Monday in extra innings, and claiming a 7-5 win at Highland Home Tuesday.

CHHS Head Coach Heather Mitchell said she has seen great improvement in the very young Lady Trojan squad since the beginning of the year, but is impressing upon the team that there is great potential for this year and the future.

“I have been definitely pleased, but for me it is my competitive nature that says we can be so much better,” said Coach Mitchell, in her first year as head coach of the Lady Trojans. “I am pleased with what we have done thus far, but I feel like there is more there. I am looking for great things to happen for our girls and our program this year and years to game, but I am going to stick with my gut and say there is room for improvement.”

Coach Mitchell and the young CHHS team dominated by underclassmen are 17-15 on the season, an improvement over the 2014 season that managed nine wins.

Of the 13 girls, there are no seniors, two juniors, three sophomores, five freshmen, two 8th graders and one 7th grader.

Against Greenville on Monday, CHHS got a strong pitching performance from Emma Kirkpatrick who pitched all nine innings, striking out four and allowing seven hits.

The score was tied 5-5 after eight full innings, before the Lady Trojans batted around for eight runs in the top of the ninth en route to the 13-7 win.

Hannah Calhoun led CHHS with four hits, Molly Kate Sanders and Lakin Turner had three each, Tucker Earles, Kirkpatrick and Kelsey Gibson had two hits including a home run, while Sidney Armstrong, Lindsey Fox and Alley Stamey had one hit apiece.

Against Highland Home Tuesday, CHHS built a 4-0 lead and held off a late Highland Home rally in the bottom of the seventh for the 7-5 win.

Turner got the win on the mound, allowing two runs on four hits over six innings while striking out two. Sanders worked the final seventh inning to close out the game.

The Lady Trojans play in a tournament at Elba this weekend, with two games Thursday against Slocomb and Brantley. How the Trojans do in these games will determine their seeding for Saturday.

The Elba tournament will close out the regular season, with the Area tournament set for April 30 at Rehobeth, where CHHS, Rehobeth, Greenville and Eufaula will battle to see which two teams will advance to the Super Regional May 7-9.