Now under the direction of coaches LeAnne Shurette and Holly Ware, and with a revamped roster, the Lady Pounders are anticipating a successful 2021 season.

The Central softball team held tryouts on February 16. After the team was selected, the Lady Pounders took the remaining time to build team chemistry and hone in their skills in preparation for regular season competition.

On Monday, March 16, the Lady Pounders hosted the Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences Patriots. Central opened the game with Junior Mikiah Tate toeing the rubber. The game started off good for the ladies in purple and gold as they held the Patriots to one run in the first. In the home half of the first inning, the Lady Pounders tallied three, but walks and errors plagued the Lady Pounders’ defense. Despite the inconsistent defensive play, the offense was a bright spot, and the Lady Pounders racked up 21 runs on 20 hits. Tate finished up her outing after five innings and eight strikeouts. The battle between the Patriots and Lady Pounders was filled with walks and defensive mishaps, truly showing the youth of the season and teams. Junior Calli Morgan came in to close out the game pitching two innings and gave up four. When the dust settled, the Patriots were on top by a score of 22-20.

The Lady Pounders moved past their opening day loss to CSAS to face the stout Ooltewah Owls on Thursday, March 18. Junior Mikiah Tate started off pitching for the Pounders again. Tate hammered the strike zone consistently, but the Owls were putting the ball in play and making solid contact. In her second outing, Tate improved, but the Owls proved to be to much. Tate lasted slightly longer than an inning and gave up 10 runs on 51 pitches. Junior Calli Morgan came in to finish up the game and pitched exceptionally well for Central. Morgan pitched for just over three innings, throwing 52 pitches and allowing three runs. Even though Morgan dampened the Owls’ offense, Central could not get anything going with the bats. Ooltewah’s pitching duo of Moore and Ladd shut out the Lady Pounders, resulting in a 13-0 loss.

Even though the Lady Pounders dropped the first two games of the season, the young squad showed drastic improvement from game one and two which promises a successful remainder of the season.

For the week of March 22, the Lady Pounders will duke it out with the Grace Golden Eagles, the Howard Hustlin’ Lady Tigers, and the East Ridge Lady Pioneers.

Readers can view the latest sports updates on the sports center page. This is where schedules, scores, and rosters will be posted. The Digest will continue to bring the latest coverage and updates as the 2021 season progresses.