Former Cornersville teammates face off on college diamond

Former Cornersville High School softball standouts Haley Fagan and Makenzie Hopkins faced off on the collegiate stage for the first time on Saturday afternoon when Fagan's Chattanooga State Lady Tiger squad traveled to Moore County and defeated Hopkins and the Motlow State Lady Bucks 7-2 in the first game of doubleheader.

Buoyed by four homeruns and a solid pitching performance from Fagan, Chattanooga State built a 7-0 lead through the first six and a half innings of play before the Lady Bucks tallied two runs in the bottom of the seventh to spoil the Lady Tigers' shutout bid.

Unusual experience

Considered the staff ace of Chattanooga State's pitching staff after transferring there from the University of Tennessee at the end of the 2012 Fall semester, Fagan picked up the win in the circle for the Lady Tigers, as she yielded two unearned runs in seven innings of work on eight hits and a walk while notching six strikeouts.

"It felt really weird to face Makenzie especially looking over and seeing her family in different colors. We faced each other some in travel ball, but travel ball is different than this," said Fagan. "Obviously there was some motivation to get her out, but I know the feeling was mutual on her side."

Although she had not pitched in a game in nearly two years after redshirting as a freshman at Tennessee due to a back injury that she suffered in high school, Fagan has made a successful return to the circle at Chattanooga State, which won the NJCAA national championship last season and owns a 30-10 record this year.

'Good to be back'

"At the start of the season I was super nervous, but now my teammates believe in me so it feels good to be back," said Fagan. "I wanted to go to a junior college so I could play immediately because if I went to a four-year school I would have to sit out a year."

With several Division I schools pursuing her services for next season, Fagan currently holds a 16-3 record and has struck out 93 batters over 126 innings while boasting an impressive 2.17 ERA.

"Haley has come in and made an immediate impact. She's thrown the most innings on the team and has the most wins. She has a lot of maturity in the circle and uses her off speed pitches to keep hitters off balance. She has an above average fastball, but her off speed pitches are her bread and butter" said first-year Lady Tiger head coach Blythe Golden.

When asked how often an SEC level player transfers to the junior college ranks, Golden stated, "It happens occasionally, but it was definitely a blessing for us. We called it our Christmas present because we found out she was coming here in late December. She's helped our program, but we think that we've also helped her too."

'Pretty nervous'

Hopkins, meanwhile, failed to record a hit in four plate appearances against her former teammate, but did score a run in the bottom of the seventh inning after reaching base on a fielder's choice.

"It felt weird facing her and I didn't really like it at all," said Hopkins. "I was actually pretty nervous because we're friends and have played ball together since we were five years old. I was just trying to do my best."

Despite her struggles on Saturday, Hopkins is still enjoying a productive freshman year at Motlow State that has seen her bat leadoff for much of the season while also starting at shortstop. Along with leading the Lady Bucks in hits (31), on base percentage (.367), and runs scored (19), Hopkins owns the second highest batting average (.333) on the team to go along with four doubles and a homerun.

"I stay after practice a lot and work on my hitting. College pitchers like to stay outside and I had to work on that. The game is a much faster paced than high school ball," said Hopkins.

While Motlow State has struggled to a 10-23 record so far this year, second-year head coach Tori Raby-Gentry credited Hopkins with being one of the bright spots on a youthful Lady Bucks team that features 14 freshmen on their 17-player roster.

"She's an athlete and is just that talented of a player. Makenzie has been consistent for most of the season, but her biggest adjustment has been eliminating that bad at bat or making that error on defense," said Raby-Gentry. "Today I think she was really nervous because of who she was facing. Hopefully she can keep growing and develop into a leader so she can step into that role next year."

After watching Fagan and Hopkins help lead the Cornersville Lady Bulldogs to a pair of third place finishes in the Class A State tournament in 2009 and 2011, it is not surprising that both are still flourishing on the softball diamond in the college ranks.