Wednesday, July 30, 2008

USC Upstate softball pitcher Morgan Childers extended her standout year by helping lead the VA Legends travel softball team to the U23 ASA National Championship in Auburn, Alabama.

Childers, a rising sophomore from Kings Mountain, N.C., was one of three pitchers on the team made up of college players. The win by the Legends this year marks the third straight U23 national championship for the organization. The team has been known for its pitching with last year's title team boasting the likes of Angela Tincher who led Virginia Tech to the ACC championship and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament en route to being named the player of the year in college softball in 2008. This year, Childers joined several top college players on the squad, including Francesca Enea (Florida), Lillian Hammond (Tennessee), Kristina Hilbreth (Florida), Tayl'r Hollis (LSU), Jennifer Lapicki (Tennessee), Sarah Malene (Charlotte), Rachael Mitchell (LSU), Stacey Nelson (Florida), Ashton Payne (South Carolina), Rhea Taylor (Missouri) and Ashton Ward (Tennessee).

The VA Legends went 7-2 in the tournament, claiming a 9-1 victory over the Georgia Fire in the championship game to claim its third straight national championship. Childers saw action in six of the team's nine games, finishing the tournament with a 2-1 record. She tossed 17 innings with 13 strikeouts and a 1.24 ERA. She ranked second on the Legends in ERA and gave up just nine hits.

Childers was pitching in the tournament less than a month after having surgery on her nose to repair damage suffered in a freak injury during a pre-season game in the fall of 2007. She broke her nose and had it treated to the extent that she could play this past spring. However, she had to have surgery this summer to fully repair the nose and missed a month of preparation leading up to the ASA Nationals with the VA Legends.