LONDON — A slow start to begin the season turned into a red-hot finish for Chris Edwards’ North Laurel Lady Jaguars, leading to the Fastpitch program’s 19th regional championship.
North Laurel began the season with a 4-6 mark, but then reeled off a season-best 10 wins in a row before finishing with a 27-9 mark heading into Thursday’s KHSAA Fastpitch State Tournament.
“We had a lot of questions before the season started,” Edwards said. “For starters, we didn’t have a field to practice on and we certainly weren’t the only ones in that position. I always talk about being in the mix for the district and region championship and this season was no different in my opinion.”
Even with the 4-6 start to the season, Edwards wasn’t discouraged.
“There was no doubt in my mind that we could make a run this season,” he admitted. “I thought if we stayed healthy, we would be in the mix at the end. Then we started the season off with two players getting injured in the very first game, one with a hamstring, and the other with a shoulder.”
Edwards mentioned his team’s 10-game win streak as a high point of the season that set the tone for the remainder of the season.
“We went to Florida on spring break and challenged the girls with some very good competition,” he said. “It was good to see the challenge of the games down there pay off with some positive games when we got back home.”
And what has been North Laurel’s main strengths to reign in 27 wins so far?
“I think an obvious strength, especially, late in the regular season and post season has been pitching and defense,” Edwards said. “I talked a lot about hose things during the course of the season because that is the key to the season. Another strength has to be our offense. We are hitting .391 as a team and averaging over nine runs a game.Both of those are really good numbers.
“Early in the season we were making too many defensive mistakes and that was a concern,” he added. “There was one game that we had nine errors. I knew that we could not continue down that road but the girls rose to the challenges that we presented to them and shored that up.”
Edwards also expressed the excitement he and his teammates has entering state tournament play.
“It is always huge to represent North Laurel in the state tournament,” he admitted. “North Laurel has been there a record 19 times now. That is a testament to the great coaches and players that came before us. It is with great pride that we try to add to the North Laurel legacy.”
