Pennington to play softball at Young Harris

THE NEXT LEVEL

  • At an event that also included teammates and coaches, Shayla Pennington is flanked by her family as she signs a letter-of-intent to play softball at Young Harris College. BRAD HARRISON/Staff
    At an event that also included teammates and coaches, Shayla Pennington is flanked by her family as she signs a letter-of-intent to play softball at Young Harris College. BRAD HARRISON/Staff

    Shayla Pennington has been part of a great measure of success with the Lady Greyhounds on the softball diamond during her career, being part of three trips to the Elite 8, two region titles and a 2020 state championship.

    That legacy gets another chapter next year for Pennington, who last Friday signed a national letter of intent at the JCHS Auditorium to play softball for Young Harris College, located in the North Georgia mountains.

    “It’s exciting because I get to start all over but also get to make new friends and compete at a high level,” Pennington said.

    The Mountain Lions compete in the Peach Belt Conference, whose in-state teams include GCSU, Georgia Southwestern, Augusta, North Georgia and Columbus State.

    “It’s so beautiful up there; I love the mountain area,” Pennington said. “I wanted to stay in state, and that’s about as far as you can go and still be in state.”

    Pennington summed up versatility during her Lady Hounds career, playing five positions, according to JCHS head coach Tripp Burt. One of those was this year when Pennington played catcher, one that she had never played before her senior year.

    “She’s been somebody the last three years who you could pencil in the lineup every day. She played five different positions for us and did a good job,” Burt said. “We asked her to play a position she had never played before, and she stepped in and did a great job with it...Hard work is contagious, and she set the example for that, on the field and in the weight room.”