After 10 games this past season, Parkers Chapel had a 5-5 softball record. The Lady Trojans went 14-2 the rest of the way, including district tournament and regional tournament championships. It ended up being a successful return to the dugout for Coach Rhonda Swilley, who had previously last coached at PC 10 years ago.
“We had a rocky start with all the injuries we had early. (Taylor) Fortune coming out of basketball and having a thumb injury. The second ball game, Kenlee McAuliffe went down with (an injury). The first four or five weeks of the season, we were really up-and-down,” Swilley said. “We played in a couple of good tournaments with good teams and it was disheartening that we weren’t doing any better than we were doing. But I knew we had the potential. I thought later on in the year when we all got together and got healthy we would do well. And, we did.
“We got everybody back in the lineup. I just wish we could’ve done that all the season long. But you deal with what’s been dealt to you and you go with it. That’s what we did. I thought we did extremely well. We just couldn’t get our bats going when we needed to at the end. Defensively, we played some really good ball.”
Parkers Chapel advanced to the second round of the Class 2A State Tournament before falling to Melbourne 2-0. The Lady Trojans graduate seniors T.K. Burson and Ciara Pharr but return the rest of the roster that went 19-7.
They also return Swilley, who said she noticed some changes to the game since she stepped away a decade ago.
“What I can see big is the pitching,” she said. “I was at Parkers Chapel when we started fastpitch. Sarah Murphy was my little lefthanded girl that I had that started everything off. She was one of the best down here. I really can see a difference in the speed. I can tell a difference in the play of the game, the strategies you use now. There’s a lot more to it than it was about 10 years ago.”
She said the players haven’t changed.
“My girls 10 years ago had that same enthusiasm that I see in these girls. The kids have not changed that much in the game. They still want to win. Every time they go out and work hard to better their skill level. That has not changed.”
The ability to relate to her players was always a strength for Swilley. It still is.
“Coach Swilley had us pumped,” said sophomore pitcher Drue Thomas. “She brings so much positivity and she makes it fun. I mean, goodness, on the way to Mountain Home, we stopped on the side of the Buffalo River just to look. It was more fun because we were just playing ball as best as we could. No matter the situation, we never got down. It was great playing for her. She makes it fun and I can’t wait to play for her again next year.”
The coach, whose team plays on a field named in her honor, is excited about the future of the program.
“If we can get healthy and stay healthy, our chances for next year are great,” Swilley said. “Drue will continue to work on her pitching and those skills. We’ve got a lot of younger players. Sophomores and juniors were the bulk of our lineup. We have several girls that will be vying for spots that didn’t get to play this year that have potential to be just as good as those starters we had this year. I’m real excited about what they’ll be accomplish in the next season.”