Lions embrace mix of youth, experience
The Briarwood Christian School softball team has a unique makeup.
There is a much more drastic age range on the Lions softball team than most teams. There is no middle school team and no junior varsity team (as of yet). Girls serious about the sport of softball are put on the varsity team from the time they walk on the south campus as seventh-graders.
This makes for a team relying on contributions from kids young and old.
“We have some real young talent, and we’ve got three awesome senior leaders,” said Ashley Segreto, first-year coach at Briarwood.
Segreto was hired during the summer to lead the softball program and said the transition to Briarwood is “going great.”
“It’s a dream job for me, to be honest with you,” she said. “To coach at this level and also be able to minister to these girls’ hearts — that’s a real privilege to me.”
Segreto has been impressed with the potential of the program and the team chemistry she has seen. The Lions’ three seniors — Riley Coyne, Daryl Deeter and Anna Donohue — have served as great mentors to the younger players, Segreto said.
“They’re really kind of taking them under their wing and showing them what it means to be a Lion and doing their best to leave a legacy before they get out of here,” Segreto said.
Coyne has signed to play collegiately at Miami University in Ohio and provides a source of power in the middle of the Briarwood lineup.
She primarily plays third base for the Lions, although Miami has signed her as a catcher. Coyne has played some catcher this season, swapping between that role and third with junior Taylor Wheat.
Deeter and Donohue play on the infield for the Lions as well, and have been mainstays throughout their careers.
In the circle, Cameron Fountain and Caroline Campbell are the primary pitchers for Briarwood. Both are going to be around for a few more years, as Campbell is a sophomore and Fountain is just an eighth-grader.
They have split several games but also show the capability to go the distance as well.
“They both complement each other well,” Segreto said. “Caroline has a little more speed than Cameron does, but Cameron’s got movement that Caroline doesn’t, so they balance each other out and have been a force a lot of games.”
Wheat is the only junior on the team and serves as the primary catcher. Campbell and Ella Hodges are the only sophomores. Lydia Coleman is the lone freshman and has already established herself as a key component of the Lions lineup. She possesses great speed and is spending most of her time playing second base.
Both of the team’s eighth-graders, Campbell and Jaddin Glenn, are big contributors. Glenn was the team’s starting center fielder last season and has played mostly left field this season.
She had the game-winning hit in Briarwood’s win over Calera on March 5.
The rest of the roster is composed of seventh-graders. Siggy Bell, Leah Coleman, Callie Mann, Blakley Watts and Lindsey Weigant are just part of what excites Segreto about the future. Leah Coleman — Lydia Coleman’s sister — and Watts have seen plenty of time in the outfield already.
Segreto said Briarwood’s goal this spring is to reach the state tournament for the first time since 2014. Whether the Lions achieve that or not, Segreto is excited for what the future holds.
“We have a ton of seventh-graders that came in this year that can hold their own with our upperclassmen, so the future is bright for Briarwood,” she said.