Old Colony softball is off to an even 3-3 start to the 2019 season. That puts the Cougars’ winning percentage at .500 – nearly 300 points lower than Hannah L’Heureux’srate of success at the plate.
Now, an individual player’s batting average doesn’t necessarily coincide with the record of a team. But it’s not common to see one’s average surpass a team’s winning percentage, especially when a team is winning half of its games.
It is more common to see a high school athlete flirt with the .500 batting average mark than it is to see a collegiate or professional hitter, which neither can sustain over the course of their season.
But by no means is it a small feat.
A high softball or baseball program is lucky to have one hitter hit .500 over an entire season once every five years – the Cougars have six in this young season.
L’Heureux’s start is something else, though. Through the first six games of the season, the Cougars’ first baseman is sporting a whopping .762 clip. She has 14 hits in 21 at-bats. Of those hits, five have been for extra bases: two home runs, two doubles, and one triple. L’Heureux also has 11 RBIs to start the year, nearly averaging two per game.
Her most staggering number of all is her OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage). The highest OPS in the history of Major League Baseball over a single season is 1.422 by Barry Bonds in 2004. Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman currently leads all of MLB with a 1.382 to start the year. L’Heureux currently has a 1.998 OPS – a tough mark to maintain, but one worth keeping an eye on.
Old Colony’s first baseman leads the 2019 roster that’s hitting a blistering .454 to begin 2019. The other five Cougars hitting .500 or better include Katelyn Caplette(.571), Te’Lynn Layton(.533), Taylor Haskell(.524), Tori Santos(.500), and Lauren Patnaude(.500).
Patnaude is tied for the team-lead in RBIs (11) with L’Heureux, and Santos is the only other Cougar to knock in double-digit runs (10). Haskell and Patnaude are also tied with L’Heureux with two doubles to lead Old Colony.
Following a 3:30 Wednesday trip to Blue Hills, Old Colony (2-1 Mayflower Small Vocational) hosts Upper Cape on Monday at 3:30 pm.
Old Rochester Regional
Old Rochester Regional High School (ORR) baseball currently sits at 3-1 to begin the year, with the team’s lone hiccup coming at the hands of Apponequet.
Bob Rosscurrently leads the Bulldogs with two wins on the mound, while also having the team’s lone loss to his name.
Nate Kavilhaughas the other win for the Cougars.
Offensively,Adam Breaulthas knocked in six runs at the plate for ORR, and Jon Hamiltonhas two two-hit games.
After Bourne takes a quick bus ride to Mattapoisett to take on the Bulldogs on Wednesday at 3:45, the Bulldogs will be off until Monday when they host Dighton Rehoboth at 3:45 pm.
ORR softball isn’t off to an ideal start to the 2019 season. The Bulldogs are currently 2-5 (1-3 SCC), with Ashley Soares(2-4) being the pitcher of record in six of those contests. Soares has done well at the plat early on, already launching three home runs.
Following a Tuesday-Wednesday back-to-back, ORR hosts Seekonk on Friday at 3:45 pm. The Bulldogs get right back to work after the weekend for a road trip to Dighton-Rehoboth at 3:45 pm.
High School Sports Update
By Nick Friar