FAYETTEVILLE — Fayetteville Tech softball has announced it will take to the field this spring with a 17-player roster, featuring four players returning from last season.
Freshmen Abby Jolly, Solara Blue and Erin Reid and sophomore Chloe’ Radford return from the Trojans’ 2020 squad, which played 16 games before the season was halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Jolly returns to the middle infield, moving from shortstop to second base. Blue will be available as part of a deep pitching pool for the Trojans, and Reid and Radford are versatile players available at numerous positions in the infield.
The group will anchor an overall young team featuring 13 new faces in a roster that coach Keith Edgerton said will have plenty of depth.
“We’re pretty much two-deep at every spot,” said Edgerton, who served as assistant coach for two years before moving to interim head coach in October. “That’s a luxury we didn’t have last year. And I think we’ll be able to hit the ball well throughout the lineup.”
Freshman Jaylynn Faughn, a 5-foot-9 freshman from Fayetteville, N.C., looks be the team’s No. 1 pitcher.
“She’s got good velocity and control,” Edgerton said. “And she’s got some movement pitches that we haven’t had in our rotation before.”
Shortstop Alea’ah Graham, a native of Teachey, N.C., and third basemen Dayona Bandy of Raeford, N.C., and Liz Greeson of Newport, N.C., will flesh out the infield.
The Trojans will also be deep at catcher, with sophomore Alexis Washenko, a transfer from Winston-Salem State, and freshmen Taylor Pasternak of Fayetteville and Mollie Gould of Morehead City, N.C., joining Radford with experience behind the plate.
Edgerton said the Trojans will field a speedy outfield, where Courtney Craig, Angel Pearsall and Chelsey Wilkes are expected to start.
“We’ve got speed in the outfield with Angel and Courtney,” the coach said. “And Wilkes just reads the ball so well, she can get an early step and make some of the ESPN-type catches on balls you don’t expect her to get to.”
Faith Squire of Fayetteville, Wendell’s Makayla Ricks and Richlands native Alexis Byrne are also available in the outfield.
The Trojans’ season starts in early February. Check faytecchcc.edu/athletics for up-to-date schedules.