Lady Tigers get star softball trio

Chattanooga State’s softball reputation continues to feed off itself.

Even as this year’s Lady Tigers are 34-7 and ranked No. 3 in NJCAA Division I, coach Beth Keylon-Randolph gets more than her share of area talent and inquiries from afar. In fact, she recently has signed three outstanding prospects who came some distance to try out.

Shortstop Leah Kelley from William Blount High School in Maryville didn’t have to come very far, but the two others are center fielder Chelsea Simon from Clarksburg, W.Va., and power pitcher and hitter Haley Workman from Easley, S.C. Simon and Workman have joined a North Carolina-based summer team, the Lady Lightning Combat Gold, whose coach researched Southeastern junior college programs and coaches and told Keylon-Randolph he wanted those two to play for her.

“His name is John Corn. He knew everything about us. Haley was looking for a pitching coach, for instance,” said Keylon-Randolph, a former Tennessee Tech pitching and hitting star who has taught pitching for years and once served as South Carolina’s pitching coach.

“Haley is unbelievable. She’s got nasty stuff,” Keylon-Randolph said. “This year she’s 14-1 so far, and the only loss was a 2-1 15-inning game in which she struck out 30 batters and allowed only two hits, and both runs were unearned. She has had 178 strikeouts in 76 innings, and she has two perfect games and three other no-hitters. In a game last week, she struck out 14 of the 15 batters she faced; the other one popped to first base.

“And she’s hitting .407 with a .593 slugging percentage.”

Simon hit .351 with five home runs and 19 stolen bases for her West Virginia summer team last year, and in high school she was Class AAA first-team all-state and MVP of the Queen of Diamonds Showcase, Keylon-Randolph said.

“She throws right-handed and bats left, and she’s very fast. She can play the short game but she mostly hits away,” Keylon-Randolph said.

Kelley is a tall, rangy shortstop who bats right-handed but can get from home to first base in 2.9 seconds, the coach said.

“She batted .415 with 16 RBIs and three home runs last year, and she hit a home run in her first at-bat this year,” Keylon-Randolph said. “She’s been all-district the last three years. She contacted us and came for a tryout and was phenomenal.

“All three of these kids have a tremendous passion for softball and tremendous work ethics. That’s one reason I’m so excited about getting them,” she added.

Adjusting to the weather forecast, the Lady Tigers moved their Friday home doubleheader against Columbia State to Sunday at 3 p.m. Today’s first game against Jackson State also begins at 3 on the Chattanooga State field.