Lady Vikings still young
by Joey Martin - posted Thursday, February 14th, 2013 @ 9:51 am

Six freshmen got their first taste of the postseason for Vidalia's Lady Viking softball team last year.

Lady Viking coach Gary Paul Parnham hopes, as sophomores, those girls have a better taste this year.

"We're still very young," Parnham said. "I only have on senior and three juniors. We're going to have to grow up fast."

Last year, Vidalia hosted its first home playoff softball game since 2007, but fell to Rayne 16-4 in a Class 3A first round contest.

got off to a good start.

The Lady Vikings, who were the No. 15 seed, finish their season at 15-14.

Lady Viking starting pitcher Laura Perrilloux is the lone senior.

Perrilloux was 11-11 with one save. She struck out 67, while walking 27 with an earned run average of 4.30. She also hit.323 on the season.

Sophomore Taylor Rodgers will also see time on the mound when not playing first base.

Rodgers batted .368 with 18 RBI

Rodgers was also 4-1 as a pitcher with three saves. She had an earned run average of 4.32.

"We've got great leadership right there," Parnham said.

Junior Savannah McCarver moves from the outfield to third base.

Katelin Temple is the lone returning outfielder after hitting .294 last year.

Other juniors are Chelsey Richards and Brooke Sims.

"We want have a set lineup until about two weeks into the season," Parnham said. "Right now we do not have a catcher with any game experience. We're real green, but we still play in one of the toughest districts in the state, so we have to get ready in a hurry."

The Lady Vikings will open their season on February 18 at Rayville.

Vidalia's first home game will be Feb. 21 against Block.

The entire schedule will be printed in next week's Sentinel.