Senior Maggie Wellborn smashes records
The Westminster softball team has experienced tremendous success this season in spite of dramatic changes to their roster since last year. “Because of last year’s graduation, we lost so much production,” said senior captain Elyse Ensor, “and losing so many pieces can be a hard thing to overcome.” With the loss of last year’s senior class, ten members of this year’s 17-person team are freshmen. One might think that these circumstances would have set the team up for a rebuilding year, but due to the exceptional play of the veterans, and the emergence of some young players into larger roles, the Cats have put together a remarkable year.
Not surprisingly, senior captain Maggie Wellborn is at the center of the team’s success this season. With the help of fellow senior captains Ensor and Meryl McCurry, and junior captain Andi Carrandi, Wellborn has led the Cats to an 18-8 regular season record. “Maggie’s unbelievable,” said McCurry. “She’s been so important to this program for her entire career and she’s capped it off with an incredible final year.” Wellborn made varsity as a freshman, where she immediately made an impact, and earned second team All-Region honors. However, during her sophomore year Wellborn became a dominant offensive player and was named to the first team All-Region. In that sophomore year, Wellborn also had an unbelievable .526 batting average, which stands as the third all-time-highest single season batting average in school history.
“At the end of my sophomore season,” said McCurry, “we all knew Maggie was destined to be a complete star.”
As a junior, Wellborn had one of the most remarkable seasons in the history of Westminster softball. She set records in hits in a single season and steals in a single season, and finished with the second highest batting average (.554) in a single season and was named to the All-State and All-Region teams. In her final year as a Wildcat, Wellborn has continued to produce numbers that place her in the top 5 of virtually every offensive category available. Wellborn will leave Westminster softball with one the most impressive sets of accolades for an athlete in any sport and as the career leader in batting average, hits, and steals for softball.
“My experience playing softball at Westminster has been incredible,” said Wellborn. “I am truly going to miss it.” Losing Wellborn, along with fellow seniors Ensor and McCurry, who were also key contributors to the team’s success, will be a huge blow to the program, but the coaches and team are not worried about the team’s future. “With great coaches and leaders to help our younger players develop,” said Wellborn, “I know that our program will continue to achieve success and perform at a high level.”
