FORTVILLE — Karlee Franklin jogged up to the pitcher’s mound just before Mt. Vernon’s game against the New Palestine Dragons. The freshman glanced over at the opposing team as they warmed up, scanning the competition.
These girls were, bigger, stronger, tougher than any team she’d ever faced off against; a team on the fast track to state competition and acknowledged as one of the best in Indiana high school softball.
And in the face of all that fear and adversity, Franklin didn’t even blink, said head coach Veronica Kirby. A storm of nerves must have been brewing inside her, yet the freshman showed no emotion; she was varsity material all right, Kirby said.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
While searching for potential talent last year at Mt. Vernon Middle School’s softball fields, Kirby saw great promise in Franklin while she pitched as an eighth-grader. If she put in the work, they’d have her starting on the varsity mound in no time, Kirby said.
She was right.
Franklin quickly made a name for herself before stepping onto the high school field, Kirby said. Kirby already knew the girl’s name when she showed up for tryouts, and the up-and-coming freshman quickly showed the rest of the team what she was made of.
Franklin currently boasts an 8-2 record, including a respectable ERA of 3.76 as a freshman. She threw a one-hitter against Columbus East April 13 and was awarded conference pitcher of the week May 1.
Consistency like that has earned her respect among her other teammates as well, Franklin said. While she initially feared being resented as a freshman on the varsity roster, the team has been accepting and supportive, she said. As long as she keeps dealing up outs, they’ve got her back.
The increased difficulty of varsity ball has forced her to adapt to a new level of competition, Franklin said.
But learning and playing with new people has left her constantly chasing after milestones set by the seniors who came before her; the best kind of motivation she could ask for, she said.
“(Franklin) has come in and had a lot of pressure put on her as a freshman, and she’s answered to that very well,” her coach said. “She’s calm and composed because she understands what needs to be done.”
‘Leaving a legacy’
As she smacked the ball over the pitcher’s head and out of sight, Kaitlyn Nugent dropped the jaws of people in the bleachers and on the field, including her own. A roar emerged from her teammates in the Marauders’ dugout as Nugent sent yet another home run sailing over the fence. It was her third of the game against Hamilton Heights on May 5. It was her ninth of the year.
She added eight RBIs to her stats record in a single game.
“I was just kind of stumped, because I’d never done that before,” Nugent laughed. “I was super ecstatic, there was adrenaline rushing through my body.”
After four years of watching Nugent grow in her craft, Kirby’s witnessed remarkable improvement in the young pitcher’s hitting in particular.
Kaitlyn really focused a lot this year on her overall physical athleticism, Kirby said. And it’s paid off. She’s faster, stronger and more coordinated than ever, Kirby said.
“She’s one of the best players in the state right now, and not a lot of people realize it,” Kirby said.
Compared to Nugent’s .377 batting average at the end of her junior year, the senior now boasts a .500 average.
Yet the most crucial contribution to the lady Marauders is not her individual skill or power, Kirby said. Her and the other seniors’ leadership has brought Mt. Vernon to an entirely new competitive level, she said.
“I knew she’d always been good, but she’s just getting it done,” Kirby said. “She’s more relaxed, more focus, just more confident overall. The other girls feed off of that.”
“As a senior leader, she’s making hits happen,” her coach added. “Hitting can be contagious.”
Nugent has been awarded an athletics scholarship to Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan.
Nugent said her teammates motivate her more than anything else as her high school career draws to a close.
Over the years, they’ve been a team on the field, at school and everywhere else, she said. Nugent will be sad to leave them as she graduates, but she hopes she’s passing on some of what she’s learned to her younger teammates, including Franklin, she said.
“It’s about the legacy we leave here as seniors,” Nugent said. “We want to make it memorable for the audience, the fans.”
“We just want to leave it all on the field.”
