Larkin sparkles over spring break in Alabama
The Franklin County Lady Seahawks went to Alabama over spring break with their softball bats on their knees, and came back with a pretty darn good showing.
And none was happier than junior Charity Larkin, a longtime journeyman member of the team who managed to blast her first varsity home run in the team’s opener against the the Arab (Alabama) Lady Knights March 11 in Orange Beach, where the tournament drew some of the finest competition in the Southeast.
Larkin, who also smacked a double, batted in three runs, as she went 2 for 2 at the plate.
Juniors Michalyn O’Neal and Raegan Dempsey, and freshman Lilah Millender each drove in a pair of runs, with freshman Ashton Carey tallying one RBI.
Junior Sarah Ham and freshman Jayla Creamer combined to twirl a three-hit 12-3 win in five innings.
Later that day, the Lady Seahawks shut out the Cherokee (Alabama) Lady Indians 2-0, as Larkin again had a stellar game, driving in both of the Hawks’ runs while going 2 for 2 at the plate.
Millender smacked a double and O’Neal hit a single and scored a run. Ham struck out nine and gave up just two hits and walked nine.
On March 12, the Lady Seahawks suffered their first loss, a 5-3 defeat by the Lincoln County (Tennessee) Lady Falcons.
Ham struck out three and walked one, while giving up three earned runs on six hits.
O’Neal and sophomore Averie Johnson each drove in a run, as she, Ham and Creamer each scored one.
Franklin County got back on the winning track later that day, as they managed a 3-1 win over the Brentwood (Tennessee) Lady Bruins.
Ham twirled a three-hitter, giving up just one earned run while striking out 10 and walking none.
The Lady Seahawks got the win when they ended a 1-1 tie with a two run rally in the bottom of the seventh.
Sophomore Alexis Webb drove in a run, as did Dempsey, while seventh grader Shasta Butler and Creamer each delivered two hits.
In their final game of the tournament, the Lady Seahawks were rocked by the Hazel Green (Alabama) Lady Trojans, a 6A powerhouse.
Ham faced a power-packed lineup and managed to strike out two while giving up six earned runs on 10 hits in the five-inning affair.
Dempsey doubled in the bottom of the fifth, and Millender drove her home for the team’s only run.
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.