“We lost five girls that were a big part of this program for many years but we feel confident that we have the girls that will step up,” explained third year coach Brad Bonds. “We feel very confident that we have girls that will step in and be able to make the plays.”

      Watching his 2007 team prepare for the season, Bonds likes what he is seeing.

     “Our players have worked so hard,” Bonds added. “They want to make themselves better each and every day and they work 110% to make themselves better.”

      Bonds admits that his team may experience some “growing pains” in the early part of the year but he is confident that their hard work effort will enable the Patriots to come together and be a threat to anyone as the season progresses.

     “Hopefully by mid season and tournament time, we will have the core group that will be doing things at the level we need,” Bonds said.

       Three seniors will be asked to lead the way for ACS this spring. Maleiah Cornwell, Alicia Napier, and Amy Wanta will be asked to provide leadership on and off the diamond. Cornwell, who shared pitching duties with Ogles last year, will be called on to anchor the Patriot staff.

     “We will look at Maleiah to pretty much be our ace pitcher,” Bonds explained “She has come a long way. She has worked all winter to develop a lot of her pitches. We will be putting a lot on her shoulders this year but I think she is ready to accept that.”

     Napier will be called upon to continue to play solid on the defensive side while continuing to polish her offensive game.

     “Alicia is a very good defensive player,” Bonds noted. “She is a role player that offers a lot of leadership on and off the field. We are looking for her to be a little more consistent on offense. If we can get her more consistent offensively, it will be a big asset for us.”

     Like Napier, Wanta is expected to be a contributor this year.

     “Amy is a good leader and role player.” Bonds said. “She will make defensive plays for us and she will get several at bats. Hopefully, she’ll be able to step up and some key hits for us. Amy sometimes is so critical of herself so we are working on getting her to have confidence in her game.”

    Bonds is quick to point out that his returning underclassmen do bring a level of experience to the squad that goes beyond innings played.

     “We have a lot of girls that do have experience playing at the varsity level in that they not have a lot of innings but they have seem several very quality at bats,” Bonds added. “. They have seen several quality innings defensively.”

    Exactly who will be on the field, and in what positions, when the season starts is still being determined in pre-season practice. However, Bonds notes that several players have the ability to fill the roles created by graduation losses.

    “Emma Napier is a sophomore but she has several years of experience on the field for us,” Bonds noted. “Juniors Lauren Sullivan and Marah Logan have seen a lot of playing time and they are the type that will not fold under pressure and I think they will be able to handle leadership qualities themselves. Whitney and Stephanie Edwards are in that same category. Baylee York has not received a lot of playing time but her work ethic is great. She is getting better every day.”

     Bonds also notes that Cornwell will not have to carry the pitching lord on her own as a pair of sophomores are expected to help make the Patriot rotation strong.

     “Emily Meador and Cara Garmon will see several innings for us,” Bonds said.

     In addition to a solid returning core of players, this year’s squad will include several freshman and eight graders that give Bonds a solid foundation as the younger level.

    “We also have several younger girls that have played together on traveling teams,” Bonds pointed out. “They are close. They know how to play together. That’s a big part of softball.”

     Despite what some might call a “rebuilding” year for the program, Bonds is very optimistic about his team’s prospects.

     “We are young and we are inexperienced in some key positions but I’m very excited about this young group,” Bonds said. “There’s not going to be a lot of pressure on these girls.”

     As has become a Patriot fast pitch norm, the team’s schedule is designed to prepare the team for the district, region and hopefully state tournament.  

     “Last year, we had one of the toughest schedules in the state,” Bonds recalled. “This year, we have set the schedule up to get the girls an opportunity early to iron out some of the kinks we may have. That will get our girls experience and confidence.  Later on, we have a tough stretch with the North Laurel tournament and the George Rogers Clark tournament.”

     Patriot fast pitch (31-8-1 last year) opens the season Tuesday, March 27 against Warren Central at home.

     Three games into the season, a young Allen County-Scottsville Patriot fast pitch team remains undefeated. Last week, ACS started the season with a 9-2 win against Warren Central, an 8-1 victory over Glasgow and a 13-0 shutout against a good Monroe County team.

     The Patriots week began with the victory over the Lady Dragons. A win coming as the Patriot hitters began to put the ball in play.

     "It is always a good feeling to get started on a positive note and play well your first game of the season,” coach Brad Bonds explained.

     The Patriots’ overcame a sluggish start as the offense started to put their bats on the ball during the middle innings.

     "Warren Central's pitcher was locating the ball on the outside corner and it kept us off balanced for a few innings," Bonds pointed out. “"We kept talking about taking the pitch to right field, and the hitters responded by settling in, going with the pitch, and jumpstarting our offense"

     With the offense slowly pushing runs across, the Patriot pitchers, led by senior Maleiah Cornwell, held the Lady Dragons in check even though the pitching may not have been as sharp as Coach Bonds would have liked. 

     “Our pitchers threw the ball decent,” Bonds added. “We labored more than we should have on the mound. We have a good pitching staff, but we have to get ahead of the hitters and hit our spots and tonight we just weren't as sharp as I want them to be.  Pitching is going to be a huge key in our success and we can't have them laboring so hard out there.  Hopefully we can chalk this up to first game jitters" 

     Thursday, the Patriots’ wasted little time in taking control of the game. After retiring the visitors in order in the top of the first, the ACS offense erupted for four runs in the home half of the inning. ACS added three runs in the second to grab a commanding 7-1 lead. However, the good start was followed by a letdown.

     "We scored several runs early and then just got complacent,” Bonds said. “We never delivered the knock-out punch like I really wanted to. Glasgow is a young team and you have to take advantage and put them away when you can"

     On the mound, Cornwell three innings of one-hit ball before turning the ball over to Emily Meador and Kara Garmon. Bonds liked what he saw from his pitchers in the game.

     "I thought our pitchers threw much better than they did against Warren Central,” Bonds noted.  “We were hitting our spots better and we just looked so much more comfortable."

      Friday, the Patriots traveled to Monroe County and had little trouble in getting past the Lady Falcons.  For the first time, Bonds like the way his offense worked the entire game.

     "We really wanted to focus on playing a full game and not get stagnant on offense and I thought we did a great job of that against Monroe,” Bonds explained. “We delivered the knock-out punch early"

     Meador got the start on the mound and, aided by the Patriots punching several runs across the plate early in the game, enjoyed a solid three-inning outing. Cornwell closed the game for ACS; giving ACS a win over a team Bonds believes will be a factor as the year wears on.

     "Monroe County is a much improved team,” Bonds said. “They will definitely surprise some people this year."

      With a week of play under their belts, Bonds noted that he was pleased with the work of his three pitchers.

    "Maleiah, Kara, and Emily are doing a really good job,” Bonds added. “Maleiah will see the majority of the starts with the other two coming in relief.  Monroe was a good game for Emily to get some experience starting and she responded well and I have confidence in Kara doing the same when we call on her for the same."

     Bonds went on to say that he like the way his offense started the season, pushing 30 runs across the plate in three games. The offense attack, pitching and defense left the coach generally pleased.

     "All in all, this was a good week for us,” Bonds remarked. “We put of several hits in each game and got to look at several combinations defensively. Hopefully we have ironed out some wrinkles and better prepared us for our spring break trip"

     This week ACS will have south but unlike the past few years, the destination will not be the shores of the Gulf. Instead, the Patriots will be in southeastern Tennessee Friday and Saturday at the Soddy-Daisy Invitational in Chattanooga. The field is loaded with top teams.

     "I entered us into this tournament so we could learn from some of the best and make ourselves better in all parts of the game,” Bonds said. “It’s an honor to get to play two teams, Ooltewah Tennessee and Maryville Tennessee that are nationally ranked as well as Tennessee powerhouse Soddy Daisy;"

      ACS (3-0) returns to district action Monday as the squad travels to Glasgow.