2007 Season Recap

The Panthers had a historical season in 2007. They earned a berth into the NCAA tournament for the first time ever in the programs' history, winning the Great South Atlantic Conference Tournament and finishing with a record of 26-20.  Even with the deceiving record, the Panthers accomplished much more than wins and losses.

The Panthers record was quite deceiving as 15 of their games came against nationally-ranked teams, all of which made the NCAA Tournament.  This tough scheduling would prove beneficial to them down the road as they would earn the school's first-ever NCAA-berth for a women's sport at LaGrange College.

Without two of their starters in the lineup and one of their freshmen getting adjusted to the college game, the Panthers struggled early to a 0-3 record on the first day of the season in the Coca-Cola Invitational.  The three losses came against national power Central (IA), Hardin-Simmons and tournament host Louisiana College, whom of each earned NCAA berths and ranked nationally all season long.

Since that frustrating day, the Panthers went on a eight-game winning streak, improving to 8-3 as the Panthers got Kellee Scandrett and Valeree Williams back after finishing basketball season.

After dropping three of their next four games, including a 2-0 loss to #23 Methodist, the Panthers finished out the Early Bird Classic winning the next three games by a combined score of 30-0 en route to a seven-game winning streak. The Panthers outscored their opponents by a combined 73-5, including an impressive sweep over rival Piedmont, outscoring the Lady Lions 14-1 in the doubleheader to improve to 16-6.

The Panthers would fall on hard times during the next nine games, winning only two during that span against Wesleyan on senior night.  They would fall to Maryville, which earned an NCAA-berth and #23 ranked Emory, which would advance to the NCAA World Series.  The Panthers started off rugged during their Texas Spring Break Trip, falling to Texas-Tyler and Texas-Dallas. 

They would also find themselves while Jennifer Knight and Kayla Yeargin would find their swing as each batted over .450 during the trip as the Panthers would defeat Trinity (Tex.), which also earned an NCAA-bid. 

After splitting with Huntingdon and being swept by #20 Emory, the Panthers would rediscover the fire that they experience during the first three weeks of March (when they won 15 of 18 games) in the GSAC Tournament.

The Panthers took the first three games in the tournament, defeating Agnes Scott, Piedmont and #1 Seed Maryville by a combined score of 14-1 heading into the championship game.

The Panthers would fall 3-2 after a solid performance by junior pitcher Megan Henry, who didn't allow an earned run.  Katie Hearn pitched two innings of relief, not allowing a run.  They would bounce back to defeat the Lady Scots, 3-0 to capture their first GSAC Tournament Title since 2001 and their first-ever NCAA-berth.  Kellee Scandrett would break a scoreless tie with a bomb to deep centerfield and Jennifer Knight would secure the victory with a two-run blast.

With nearly three weeks without a game heading into the NCAA Regional in Fayetteville, N.C. the Panthers showed everyone that they were not rusty and Amanda Daniel pitched with so much fire and intensity as her defense backed her up with amazing plays.

Even with the great defense, the Panthers couldn't punch in a run in both games, falling 1-0 to nationally ranked and tournament host Methodist and 2-0 to Salisbury (Md.) to end a successful season.

The pitching of ace Amanda Daniel, a sophomore from Yatesville, Ga. was the bread and butter for the Panthers. Daniel went 15-10 with an ERA of 1.74 in 152.2 innings played. During the GSAC tournament, she went on a tear, allowing only one run in 21 innings with 15 strikeouts, finishing 3-0 as she garnered tournament MVP honors. In the championship game against Maryville, Daniel struck out five batters, which set the single season record for strikeouts, while recording her 10th career shutout.

The Panthers used a high-powered offense to score runs. Seven players batted higher than .300 while two batted .400 or higher. Kim Woodard (.415) led the team in hits (59) and runs with 43.  She was named GSAC Player of the Year and NFCA All-Atlantic Region. Kristi Underwood (.319) led the team in doubles with 11 while Kellee Scandrett (.315) led in triples with 3. The most impressive stat is Jennifer Knight, who broke the school's home runs record with 7 while leading the team in RBI with 31, en route to GSAC All-Freshman Team honors.

Valeree Williams, who batted .410 with nine doubles and 44 hits, was named GSAC Freshman of the Year and was named to the All-GSAC Team.  It was the fourth consecutive year that a Panther has won this award.  With Woodard's plaque, it was the fourth-straight season that a Panthers won the GSAC Player of the Year award, showing dominance in the GSAC with talent and performance.

The Panthers functioned well as a team, performing well offensively, batting .305 and scoring 218 runs. Defensively, the Panthers held their opponents batting average to .257 and allowed 135 runs.

The Panthers featured five seniors; Kim Woodard, Hayley Hanson, Dicie Holland, Kellee Scandrett and Dawn Smith. This group has set the bar high for Panther teams in the future. With a young, but talented squad returning, it would not be a surprise if coach Claybrook's team exceeds those expectations.