Kelsi Pardue has Allen County looking for repeat softball title in 2012

The pressure is on this softball season at Allen County (Scottsville, Ky.). Or so it would seem.

At the end of this season the Patriots are going to lose perhaps the best pitcher in school history and the only coach to ever lead the school to a state title in any team sport. So it makes sense that it might be a now-or-never opportunity to win a state championship.

But, in the Patriots' case, it would be a second straight state championship.

The small school — enrollment is 970 — is situated in a rural town that has just four softball fields within its borders. Despite this, the Patriots defied logic and blew through the 2011 state tournament like a Midwestern storm on a hot summer night and have been named the top team in the state in the MaxPreps Best Softball Teams in Each State story. Classifications are not used in Kentucky softball, and so the smaller schools have to compete against the larger ones in the state tournament, making Allen County's title win over Ballard High School (1,700 students) even more surprising. The win was the 41st of the season, setting a state record.

"We got on a really good run and were seeing the ball really well," head coach Rick Roberts said about his offense, which hit .389 in the tournament. "On defense our middle infielders played especially well. We just took one inning at a time and everything came together. It was like a perfect storm."

The Patriots rode the arm of Kelsi Pardue, who pitched all 34 innings in the postseason and was named tournament Most Valuable Player.

"Last year's season left me speechless," said Pardue, who was named the Kentucky Coaches Association 2A State Player of the Year. "Words cannot describe the experience I had. To finally win that championship, it is so surreal … truly magical."

Pardue, a 2011 MaxPreps Small School All-American, went 34-3 with a 0.43 ERA while striking out 389 batters in 242 innings. The three-year starter has 82 career wins — 34 of them shutouts — and 885 strikeouts. She is expected to break the school record for career wins (107) and strikeouts (1,100), both currently held by her coach's daughter, Hannah, who was a three-time All-American at the University of Chicago.

"Despite the fact it's my daughter who holds the records, I sure hope Kelsi breaks them, because she deserves it," admitted Roberts, who has already announced he will retire at the end of the season.

The Patriots have been blessed with pitching talent since 1997, but Roberts said Pardue is without a doubt the hardest thrower of them all.

"She has a great live ball and a great screwball, and throws it hard [clocked at 65 mph]," he explained.

Roberts said that in addition to her natural abilities, what makes Pardue so good is her desire to play the game, including her love of practice, which makes her teammates even better.

"She just loves to play," Roberts said. "She even loves practice. She's a diamond rat. When you have a girl who loves to play like that everybody else feeds off that."

Pardue received her first scholarship offer from Western Kentucky University, and it didn't take long for her to decide the short 25-mile drive from Scottsville to the WKU campus is what she was looking for.

"What really made up my mind was the distance from home," Pardue explained. "Being away isn't that big of a deal for me, but Western allows my family, friends and community the opportunity to watch me play, which is important to me."

Western Kentucky coach Tyra Perry was thrilled to get the local superstar.

"Kelsi Pardue is a fighter on the mound," Perry said in a press release after Pardue signed her Letter of Intent. "She competes on every pitch and is as consistent as they come."

Allen County will need Pardue's consistency again this year. The Patriots lost five players to graduation, including the school's all-time leading hitter, Catie Yates, and four other players now playing in college. One of those four is Taylor Borders, who has been Pardue's battery mate since her freshman year.

"Having a new catcher is like breaking in a new glove, you're going to have to keep working with it until you're used to it," Pardue said. "However, I'm confident that whoever catches me will do great. Old or new catcher, I still have to pitch the same as I always do."

Senior Sandy Young (.304 batting average) and her sister, Katie Young (.294), return and will each play both in the outfield and behind the plate. The siblings swing big bats, evinced by Katie's grand slam as a freshman in last year's title game. Roberts described the duo, who have been raised on a farm, as "working farm girls who are strong and athletic."

The all-important middle infielders are back. Senior Emily Doss returns at second base and junior Brittany Rippy will at shortstop.

"Emily and Brittany are two really good athletes," Pardue said. "Emily has great range and good hands. Brittany also has great range and a strong arm. I know they both have my back, literally and figuratively."

Roberts said the team has already discussed defending the state title.

"We talk about how last year was last year and this year is this year," he said. "We talk about how it was great to win, but now your legacy is this coming year. I tell them all the time, ‘Let's work hard every day and hope it all works out at the end like it did last year.'"

Allen County will play a rigorous schedule, including a rematch against Ballard. The Patriots will also participate in the Wendy's Spring Classic in Ashland, Ohio, and face Beech, last year's Tennessee AAA state champion.

"The team we have now is very competitive," Pardue said. "Also, unlike some teams, we are very close and we play for each other and not ourselves. And to me that means more than being good. We have a tough schedule and a competitive region, which will prepare us for the state title once again."

The title defense begins March 14 when the Patriots open up against South Warren. It will be then that Pardue will walk to the circle in a season-opener for the last time as a high school athlete.

"As always, I'm super excited to start the season," Pardue said with emotion in her voice. "However, at the same time, it's disheartening to know that it's my last season as a Patriot. Coach Rick Roberts, his coaching staff, and my teammates have made my dreams come true and without them I wouldn't be who I am today. I can't even really talk about it without getting upset."

What the future Hilltopper can talk about is how she'll handle the pressure of taking the ball every single game for the Patriots.

"Pressure is a privilege," she said with confidence.

Jon Buzby is the sports columnist for the Newark Post, a freelance writer, and on the broadcast team for the 1290AM The Ticket High School Football and Basketball Games of the Week. You can reach him at jonbuzby@hotmail.com.