The great scientist Albert Einstein once wrote that "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity" and for a group of young Chesnee softball players those words ring true for them this season.
Ansley Blanton and Claire Owens could have never dreamed of being on the varsity softball team as seventh graders when the season started at Chesnee Middle School but here they are helping the Eagles with a playoff run. "I'm really happy.," said Owens about being giving this opportunity. "I want to thank Coach Fogle for this opportunity as well as Coach Carver for giving me a chance to play in the outfield." "It's crazy to realize that we just won a district championship and are now playing in the Upper State tournament," said Blanton. "I'm excited to keep playing with these girls." Blanton said. Little did anyone know unfortunate injuries to four key members of the varsity squad would create an opportunity for both players to not only join the varsity team but have keys roles in the Eagles playoff run that recently saw them win a district championship. "It's brought us together more as a team," said senior Maddie Handy. "We have taken them in as our kids and helped guide them and that has brought us closer together." Blanton is now the starting catcher for the Eagles and Owens is the starting right fielder while batting leadoff in the previous two games including her four-hit performance on Wednesday of the district championship. "The cool part about Owens leading off is the unselfishness of Aubrey Aparis," said Chesnee head coach Tripp Fogle. "I asked her about moving to the two hole and she wanted Claire to have that opportunity. Now having those two at the top of the order with the speed that they have creates a lot of excitement." When asked what got her to this moment Blanton was quick to give credit to others. "My travel ball Coach has really helped prepare me for this, along with all the coaches at Chesnee," said Blanton/ "Tootie (Handy) is an amazing pitcher and she makes me look good while I try my best to make her look good." The Eagles tried shifting things around for a few games with the other players before calling up Blanton and Owens and after adding the pair, both the defensive lineup and batting order has settled into a nice consistency for the Eagles. "Both Blanton and Owens have helped along with other players that have stepped up from JV," said Fogle. "As a staff we have talked about how fortunate we are to have the quality of depth we have at the JV and middle school levels." "It's really difficult when several players go down," said senior Emily Pruett. "But it's great to see when others step up and fill the void that was created." The Eagles three seniors (Maddie Handy, Emily Pruett, and Brandolin Bearfield) along with the rest of the Eagles have helped make the transition easy for the young duo. "You just have to trust in the younger pups to do their job," said Bearfield. "We just let them know you have faith in them." "Throughout my softball career, I have been in a similar spot to what they are in," said Pruett. "Just new to the team, not really knowing anyone. Our responsibility as seniors is to invite them in, and help them adjust and feel as comfortable as they did at the middle school level." "The entire varsity team welcomed them with open arms," said Fogle. "They appreciated the competition and that's the beautiful thing about our girls is they want competition. They pull for everybody as we are one big family, and don't care who gets the credit." "They made me feel comfortable," said Owens. "They helped me settle in and be comfortable in my own skin and feel like a part of the team. Tootie (Maddie Handy) has really helped me adjust." "It's really nice to see that they didn't look at as why are we getting these young players," said Chesnee assistant coach Ashley Westbrooks. "Instead they looked at it as let's show them how we do things around here, and they just welcomed them with open arms." Blanton especially contributed her success behind plate defensively to her battery mate Maddie Handy. "As soon as I met her, I knew we were going to be friends," said Blanton. "She took me under her wings and told me, "You are going to be my catcher." "She is such a good ball player," said Handy. "We have developed a really good chemistry between us, and she has become a friend." "As an old catcher, you want to see your catcher be humble, and try to do what's best for your pitcher," said Fogle. "Ansley does a wonderful job of doing that for us and I'm proud of her along with Tootie (Handy) embracing her and guiding her. It has helped her a whole lot." Eagles Coach Tripp Fogle could not be more pleased with how his seniors and the rest of the team have accepted Owens and Blanton to the varsity team. Westbrooks knows how hard it is to be a middle school student on a varsity squad as she joined her team in the eighth grade at Chesnee and her personal experience has helped her understand the mindset of Owens and Blanton. "Both of Blanton and Owens have really stepped into the roles we needed them to step in to," said Westbrooks. "We talk a lot as a coaching staff about how stressful it can be to be that young, and have the high expectations we have for them/ At the same time though when we pulled them up, we did it because we believed they were fully capable of filling the roles we needed them to." Comments are closed.
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