By Blake Colston
Sports Editor
Piedmont’s softball team had plenty of reasons to get out of the gates a little slow this season.
The back-to-back state champions started a new player at every infield position to begin the year and ace pitcher Payten Schibbelhute is still working back to full-go following an offseason foot injury.
But there’s been nothing slow about Piedmont’s 10-1 start. The Lady ‘Cats are outscoring their opponents 99-20 through 11 games with an average margin of victory of more than eight runs.
Piedmont on Tuesday won at Westmoore 7-4 to earn its fifth straight victory.
“I think we’re about where we should be right now,” head coach Keith Coleman said. “But, we’re still not as good as we need to be.”
It’s hard to say what part of Piedmont’s game has been the best so far, because the Lady Wildcats have been good at nearly everything. The Lady ‘Cats’ team ERA is under 2.00, and PHS is hitting .465 as a team with eight home runs.
“We’re very fortunate that we pitch it so well. That’s the strength of our program,” Coleman said. “I wasn’t really concerned about our offense. I felt like we had a chance to be good on that side of the ball.”
Piedmont has three main options in the circle, and they’re all capable. Junior Addison Underwood (5-0, 1.16 ERA, 35 strikeouts in 18 innings) has made four starts, while senior Hannah Nieuwenhuis (2-1, 2.28 ERA, 17 strikeouts in 18.1 innings) got her fourth start of the season in the Lady ‘Cats 7-4 win over Westmoore. Schibbelhute (3-0, 1.47 ERA, 27 strikeouts in 19 innings) came on in relief of Nieuwenhuis to earn the win against the Jaguars.
Schibbelhute, who has helped lead Piedmont to its last two state titles, is eventually expected to move into the top spot in the pitching rotation later this season, but Underwood and Nieuwenhuis will remain quality options. Underwood’s development is particularly important for PHS, because unlike her counterparts she’ll be back next season.
“She throws pretty hard, but she can spin it both directions and up,” Coleman said of Underwood. “When she’s dialed in, she can miss a lot of bats.”
Underwood logged some varsity innings a season ago but spent a majority of her time on Piedmont’s junior varsity squad.
“Getting that extra time and extra innings has helped me be able to produce for my team this year,” she said.
Offensively, several players have made major contributions. Catcher Taybor Moss leads PHS with five home runs and 14 RBI’s. Nieuwenhuis and Gracie Garcia have added two home runs apiece while senior outfielder Tylar Short’s 15 runs scored are tops on the team. Peyton Gray is 14 for 20 (.667) with 11 stolen bases.
“We have people who have really stepped up from last year to this year,” Moss said.
Coleman said his team’s defense still needs to improve. So far, Piedmont has made eight errors, good for a .957 fielding percentage.
Piedmont on Saturday hosts Guymon for a district doubleheader. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
