Female Athlete of the Week
North Fort Myers sophomore Allie Kennedy cleared her thoughts as she walked to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning of Friday’s District 5A-15 softball championship game.
She still managed to pick out a few words of inspiration coming from coach Jeff Miner, before taking her at-bat trying to give the Red Knights the lead in a scoreless battle against Fort Myers.
“My coach said to me, ‘we need you here,'” Kennedy said.
The Daily Breeze Female Athlete of the Week then connected on a high drive that nearly cleared the left field wall, but struck the top and bounced back into play. The clutch double did enough, sending home the only run in the Red Knights’ 1-0 victory.
Kennedy has been a key contributor for the Red Knights all season, but her timely hit off one of the area’s best pitchers made up for some late-season struggles at the plate. She entered the district tournament on an 0-for-13 hitting slump.
“We tell our players if you’re not swinging the bat you have to play defense,” Miner said.
During her slump, Kennedy continued to work with the coaches to try and get going offensively, but began to make an even bigger impact with her glove in right field.
Along with making the routine plays, Kennedy made some sparkling ones. Two of them came last Wednesday in a 4-0 win over Barron Collier in the semifinals. Kennedy chased down one ball in foul territory, making the catch with her back turned to home plate, and added a diving grab on a pop up to shallow right.
In that same game, Kennedy broke out of her slump with an RBI single in the fifth. It provided much-needed confidence going into the championship game.
Kennedy is in her second year with the Red Knights, after playing Little League softball at Cape’s Burton Park. Her athletic interest extends beyond the softball field. She played volleyball this last fall and plans to try golf and soccer next year.
Honorable mentions:
Kayla Vetter, senior, Ida Baker softball: Vetter went 2-for-4 with two RBI in a District 5A-15 tournament win over Mariner. She pitched a complete game against Mariner and threw 10 shutout innings in a 3-1 loss to Fort Myers.
Jasmine Roberts, senior, North Fort Myers track & field: Roberts won both the long jump and 100 in last week’s District 4A-7 meet.