Lady Cougars Begin Play Saturday

With the first game of the new softball season now just two days away, the Piedmont Academy Lady Cougars are continuing pre-season work.

The Piedmont fast-pitch team will compete at a tournament hosted by Gatewood in Eatonton this Saturday along with Windsor and Thomas Jefferson. The Lady Cougars begin tournament play against Windsor.

New head coach Nick Prezioso will have most of last year’s squad returning for 2006. Only Bailey Myers, the team’s starting third baseman last season, was lost to graduation.

Junior pitcher/outfielder Carrie Tucker returns after batting .472 last fall. Tucker was also the team’s primary weapon on the pitcher’s mound working an impressive 145 innings with a 3.18 earned run average with 156 stikeouts compared to just 77 walks.

Junior Emily Beckham returns at catcher as does fellow junior Kirstie Lewis at shortstop. Lewis broke her wrist halfway through the season in 2005, but has worked in the weightroom and gotten a lot stronger.

Freshman second baseman/outfielder Danielle Morgan batted .282 as a sub-freshman and is expected to contribute even more this fall.

Piedmont should have more depth at pitcher this season. While Tucker pitched every game in 2005, this season Coach Prezioso will have freshman Alicia Bassett and eighth grader Alex Jordan as options.

Prezioso is to begin work at Piedmont after he completes his current job duties in Florida. Until that time, Kenny Roberts, the team’s head coach in 2005, is conducting practice.