NC high school softball powerhouse starts 3 8th graders who all bat better than .500
Charlotte Christian opens play this week in the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association girls’ softball playoffs without a senior on its roster.
Three of the 11 players are sophomores. One is a freshman.
our players are eighth-graders, and three of them are starting infielders.
Sounds like a recipe for a quick exit from the playoffs, right?
Not exactly.
The Knights enter postseason play with a 13-1 record. They tied for the CISAA championship with Cannon School and batted .466 on the season and won most of their games via the “mercy rule” — leading by 10 or more runs after three innings.
And they broke a collection of school records along the way.
The Knights, seeded second in the NCISAA 4A division, open postseason play Friday at home against Providence Day. First pitch is at 4:30 p.m.
Kevin Hinde is in his fourth year as head coach of the Knights after several years as an assistant. He says this season’s success is the product of a special group of student-athletes.
“Our thing has always been about teaching,” Hinde said. “Just go and be an athlete. We can teach the rest.
“This season has been a different feel. They’re happy to play and happy to learn.”
Hinde says he thinks most people expected the 2018 team, his first as head coach, to finish at the bottom of the CISAA standings. The Knights finished third. They were third in 2019, then had the 2020 season eliminated by COVID-19.
This year marked the arrival of a talented group of eighth- and ninth-graders. Among them is eighth-grader Anna Hinde, the coach’s daughter. She batted .579 with five homers. All three eighth-graders in the starting lineup hit better than .500.
Leading the team are a pair of juniors — University of Virginia commit Mary Caroline Eaton and N.C. State commit Wynne Gore.
Eaton batted .636 this season with a team-high 10 home runs. Gore compiled a 13-1 record as pitcher and batted .653 with 11 doubles.
Eaton and Gore have known each other for several years, “but this is the first year that we’ve been on the same team,” Eaton said.
“What helps make this team good is that everyone wants to be here,” Gore said. “We all enjoy playing on this team.”
“It just seemed to click for us this year,” Eaton added.
Hinde says the presence of eighth-graders has not been a problem with the older players.
“The younger players have followed the leadership of our older players,” he said. “And there is mutual respect among everyone. The eighth-graders are accepted as a part of the team.”
And with only 11 girls on the roster, everyone gets plenty of playing time.
The only blip on their schedule this season came April 16, when the Knights lost to Cannon School, 7-4. But in the rematch 11 days later, Charlotte Christian won, 15-4.
But that loss was part of the maturation experience.
“We’re still learning, still getting better,” Hinde said. “But we’re having fun.”
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
Charlotte Christian opens play this week in the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association girls’ softball playoffs without a senior on its roster.
Three of the 11 players are sophomores. One is a freshman.
our players are eighth-graders, and three of them are starting infielders.
Sounds like a recipe for a quick exit from the playoffs, right?
Not exactly.
The Knights enter postseason play with a 13-1 record. They tied for the CISAA championship with Cannon School and batted .466 on the season and won most of their games via the “mercy rule” — leading by 10 or more runs after three innings.
And they broke a collection of school records along the way.
The Knights, seeded second in the NCISAA 4A division, open postseason play Friday at home against Providence Day. First pitch is at 4:30 p.m.
Kevin Hinde is in his fourth year as head coach of the Knights after several years as an assistant. He says this season’s success is the product of a special group of student-athletes.
“Our thing has always been about teaching,” Hinde said. “Just go and be an athlete. We can teach the rest.
“This season has been a different feel. They’re happy to play and happy to learn.”
Hinde says he thinks most people expected the 2018 team, his first as head coach, to finish at the bottom of the CISAA standings. The Knights finished third. They were third in 2019, then had the 2020 season eliminated by COVID-19.
This year marked the arrival of a talented group of eighth- and ninth-graders. Among them is eighth-grader Anna Hinde, the coach’s daughter. She batted .579 with five homers. All three eighth-graders in the starting lineup hit better than .500.
Leading the team are a pair of juniors — University of Virginia commit Mary Caroline Eaton and N.C. State commit Wynne Gore.
Eaton batted .636 this season with a team-high 10 home runs. Gore compiled a 13-1 record as pitcher and batted .653 with 11 doubles.
Eaton and Gore have known each other for several years, “but this is the first year that we’ve been on the same team,” Eaton said.
“What helps make this team good is that everyone wants to be here,” Gore said. “We all enjoy playing on this team.”
“It just seemed to click for us this year,” Eaton added.
Hinde says the presence of eighth-graders has not been a problem with the older players.
“The younger players have followed the leadership of our older players,” he said. “And there is mutual respect among everyone. The eighth-graders are accepted as a part of the team.”
And with only 11 girls on the roster, everyone gets plenty of playing time.
The only blip on their schedule this season came April 16, when the Knights lost to Cannon School, 7-4. But in the rematch 11 days later, Charlotte Christian won, 15-4.
But that loss was part of the maturation experience.
“We’re still learning, still getting better,” Hinde said. “But we’re having fun.”
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
