Brenna Conley throws second Perfect Game of Season in Win

Published 11:48 am Monday, October 10, 2022

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The Bainbridge High School Lady Cats softball team is off to another dominant regular season as they posted a 10-2 region record, winning 12 games overall. A huge part of that success has been the performance of junior pitcher Brenna Conley. 

In last Tuesday’s 17-0 dominant win against Shaw, Conley threw her second perfect game of the season. Conley has been the ace for the Lady Cats all season and has been the spark plug for the Lady Cats stellar defensive play. 

In 83 innings pitched, Conley has accumulated a 2.01 ERA with 135 strikeouts and a 1.05 WHIP while posting a 12-6 record. Head Coach Rex Wade has attributed Conley’s success to the work that she puts in outside of practice and the games. 

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“Brenna is a really unique player,” said Wade. “As a coach, players like Brenna don’t come around very often. She’s committed to the game of softball. After practice she goes home and does drills and throws on her own and is constantly working. She lives and breathes softball and her teammates look up to her.”

A big part of Conley’s success on the mound is due in part to the variety of pitches she uses and her mental approach to each hitter. Conley is able to mix in off-speed pitches along with her fastball and rise ball to keep hitters off balance. 

“Brenna throws with grit and determination,” said Wade. “She’s not going to blow hitters away with her fastball but what makes her different is she is able to keep hitters guessing by mixing up her fastball, rise ball and changeup and the change in velocity makes it really difficult for opposing hitters.”

As Conley’s pitching has been dominant, so have been the Lady Cats in the field behind her. In 12 wins this season, the Lady Cats have held opponents to two runs or less 11 times including seven shutouts. 

Coach Wade has emphasized the importance of being an elite defensive team all season and his team has bought into the mentality and takes pride in shutting opponents offenses down. 

“We talk about it everyday, work on it everyday and execute it every game,” said Wade. “Defense is a core philosophy of what we do here and ultimately defense will lead to wins and championships. I tell our girls we want to play boring defense which means limit errors and make the fundamental, smart play.”

Next for the Lady Cats is a playoff run. The Lady Cats had a successful regular season placing second in region just behind Cairo, going 10-2 in their region. Coach Wade and his team are focused on making a deep playoff run and focusing on one team at a time. 

“Championship is always the goal and the mindset but we’re going to take it one game at a time and focus on the present,” said Wade. “There are some really good opponents in the playoffs this season and we’re going to have to make sure we’re at the top of our game. Our girls are excited for the opportunity.”

The Lady Cats will travel to Crisp County on Wednesday for their last regular season game of the season before they begin their playoff journey next week.