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06/08/2022 12:00 AMIt takes a lot of courage for an athlete to persevere through a difficult season. However, that challenge was certainly worth it for Kacey Edwards as she battled through her junior year with the Morgan softball team.
Kacey had a blast playing both pitcher and shortstop for the Huskies during the 2022 campaign. While Morgan finished with a record of 4-16, the season meant much more to Kacey than just wins and losses.
Softball became a routine for Kacey as a youngster. Kacey started with tee-ball and then began playing travel ball when she was eight. By following her older sister Colleen’s athletic journey, Kacey was inspired to try softball and bring her best effort to a sport that she always found fun.
“I would go to her games, and I would go to some Red Sox games. It always just seemed interesting, even at a young age just watching it,” says Kacey. “That really inspired me to want to start. I played with my sister through a lot of Little League until we got older and we had to split up. That’s where a lot of my inspiration came from.”
Kacey’s love for the game developed quickly, and she could hardly wait to suit up for the Huskies when the time came. From the moment she stepped on the mound, Kacey loved competing alongside her friends on the high school diamond. The bonds that Kacey shared with her teammates made for an enjoyable experience right off the bat.
“Definitely the best part about being on Morgan is the team. It doesn’t even matter how the outcome of any games are,” Kacey says. “I’ve never been on a team that everyone’s just so close with each other for so long. We all get along, and it’s just great.”
The chemistry among the Huskies helped them get through some tough times this season. For her part, Kacey led Morgan with a .438 batting average and a .479 on-base percentage to go with 20 stolen bases on the year. Head Coach Scott Chidsey was pleased with how Kacey performed for the club.
“Kacey is a tremendous athlete. Kacey has been our leadoff hitter the last two years and, when she gets on, she’s pretty much going to steal second,” says Chidsey. “Having Kacey on our team gives us an opportunity to compete.”
Kacey decided to take a break from the game leading up to her junior year at Morgan. She didn’t play summer or fall ball and was uncertain if she would compete for the high school team as a junior. Kacey won’t be playing travel softball during this offseason, but she’s really glad she decided to stick around with the Huskies.
“I just took some time off to basically just find a reason why I still wanted to play and want to miss it,” Kacey says.
Kacey made a good decision to return to the softball field at Morgan. The 2022 season proved an important one for the Huskies that featured several positive memories and plenty of growth among everyone. Instead of pitching every game, Kacey also got a chance to play shortstop and made the most of her opportunity.
Kacey earned All-Shoreline Conference Second Team honors as a shortstop and was also named to the Junior Select All-Star Team. While switching spots on the field, Kacey felt pleasantly surprised about her performance at the shortstop position.
“It surprised me a lot because I never thought anything of it and I was just having fun with it, doing something different that I didn’t normally do,” Kacey says. “I never would have expected to get onto that [the All-Conference Team]. It was something that I always thought about like other people doing it, but I never would have thought that I’d gotten onto it.”
Kacey appreciates how she always has a group of teammates who are there to support her. On and off the field, Kacey knows that her fellow Huskies always have her back. Regardless of any outcomes, Kacey cherishes the friendships that she’s made with every member of Morgan’s roster.
“It’s so easy that all the girls that you’re playing with are really great teammates. Everyone’s so happy together, and it just makes the team so much better,” says Kacey. “That’s why it translates so much on the field. It’s because we can all trust each other in and out of softball.”
Kacey is excited about reuniting with her teammates for her senior season next year. Kacey feels more dedicated than ever to continue playing a sport that she loves with a bunch of Huskies she loves.
“I wasn’t even planning on playing high school, really. It just felt wrong not to play,” says Kacey. “I decided to play and I’m so glad I did, because the season that it turned out to be was something that I’ll never take for granted.”