Riding the wave, paving the way: Northside softball making a name

On Thursday, the Northside Eagles rolled up to Veterans High School and spoiled the Warhawks’ senior night with a 4-1 win in a hard fought game. A three-run inning in the fourth from the Eagles took the lead and a good outing defensively left the Warhawks on base.

Northside allowed just one run off an error while junior, Celena Luna, pitched for the night and gave up just two hits. Junior, Libby Parsons finished with two RBIs and Sierra Fransioli also brought in a runner.

Northside Head Coach Kylie McHugh is an animated coach that exudes a contagious excitement for her team and coaching; so it wasn’t surprising seeing her elation postgame.

“Oh, we’re going to ride this high! Ride the wave, that’s all I’ve got to say,” said McHugh on the victory. “I mean, I’m so proud of them. It’s like one of those games we needed to get over (and) we got over the hump today. We learned how to fight, we fought, and we won.”

All of the Eagles were ecstatic after the win, but probably no one more than McHugh, and it’s been like that before the season began. She entered this year with high energy and an even higher expectation to turnaround Northside’s softball program. McHugh was a former player at Houston County High, so she’s well aware of the softball tradition, or lack there of, at Northside and how it compares around Houston County. But a thing about McHugh is she doesn’t like to lose, want to lose, or associate herself with any losing; and her competitiveness can be seen through the players.

Their performances in the beginning of this season make it feel like it’s the dawn of a new era at Northside.

“We competed, we fought, and we beat Veterans. It’s really nice to come across town and make a name for Northside,” said McHugh. “We’re not just football. That’s what drives me nuts, we’re not just football, we’re softball too.”

This could be the first winning season Northside has seen in years and could even earn them a playoff spot. The Eagles’ success early on in the season is no shock to McHugh though; it’s what she was expecting and plans to build on it.

The win against Veterans puts them at 4-3 on the season and was a good bounce-back win after struggling to Perry in an 11-8 loss. In their three-game losing steak, Northside kept each game close and lost by three runs or less. They took Dodge County to extra innings and lost 9-7, then lost to Veterans 11-10 before playing Perry.

The revenge win over Veterans snapped the Eagles’ losing streak and gave them some swagger back leading up to region games.

So far this year, Luna and Kylee Ussery both have 13 RBIs each. Luna also has four home runs while batting .500, and Ussery has two bombs while hitting .400. Junior infielder, Madelyne Lee, is batting a .545 average, has nine RBIs and two home runs, and junior outfielder, Casey Ruffin, has eight RBIs with a .545 batting average.

Northside starts region play on Friday, Sept. 5 against Valdosta.

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