Making an impact
Hartselle’s Katie Gentle had a solid season for the Wallace State Community College softball team in 2012, helping the Lady Lions achieve their fifth straight Alabama Community College Conference title and finishing third at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I National Championship Softball Tournament at St. George, Utah in May.
Gentle, an outfielder and leadoff batter for the Lady Lions, completed her freshman season with a .342 batting average, which included six home runs, 39 RBI’s, 44 runs scored and 17 stolen bases.
Gentle and her teammates (62-12) fell one game shy of playing for their second NJCCA championship, winning four straight games in the loser’s bracket before falling in the semi-finals to eventual champion Chattanooga (Tenn) State, 7-2, in eight innings.
NJCCA wins came against Lake Land (Ill.) College, Blinn (Texas) College, State (Fla.) College.