Young team, high expectations: King's Academy softball leans on treasure trove of freshmen
The King’s Academy softball team, led by a trove of elite freshmen, likes to get off the diamond quickly.
In its fifth game, which ended via the 15-run mercy rule, the host Lions needed just four innings Thursday to post an abbreviated 15-0 rout of undermanned Forest Hill on its West Palm Beach campus.
One of the youngest teams in Palm Beach County, King’s Academy moved to 8-1 behind the freshman star trio of Lily Stone, Gracyn Needle and pitcher Caroline Duncan.
Stone was 2-for-3 with three RBIs — all hard-hit singles. Needle hit two rocket singles and drove in a pair. Duncan pitched a two-hitter with six strikeouts in four innings.
“We can get in more work with more innings but when we put our foot on the gas, it’s great," said Stone of the mercy-rule wins.
The Lions have no seniors, as second-year coach Kim Needle is building a struggling program from scratch. She’s got seven freshmen, three eighth graders, two sixth graders, one sophomore and one junior.
The freshman hitting tandem of Gracyn/Lily has dominated pitchers. They burst onto the scene as eighth graders and now have exploded.
“They both played great," Needle said. "Super proud of them — their attitudes, work ethics and pushing each other. I was fortunate to have them as eighth graders my first year. Watching them grow together and continue to be successful has been amazing."
Gracyn Needle, the coach’s daughter, is the team’s home-run leader (two homers, .833 slugging percentage) while Stone leads in batting average at 607. Sophomore Kiersten Zimmerman is batting .480.
“I’m being aggressive ready to hit the ball," Stone said. “I’m disciplined. I always keep my eye on the ball. If it’s there I hit it, if not I’ll walk."
Last season, King’s Academy lost in the District 13 3-A finals to American Heritage-Delray and finished 13-4 overall.
“We have a young team, but I had high expectations this year,’’ said catcher Gracyn Needle, who is hitting .458. “Everyone comes out and works so I was expecting to have this good a season because of how we jell and come together as a team. I’m expecting to have a good run in the postseason and go far. We’re growing stronger each game.’’
Thursday, King’s Academy scored five runs in the first, four in the second and led 13-0 after three innings. Two more runs in the fourth gave the umpires a short workday.
“That first inning for us is really big," Gracyn Needle said. “With all these games, that first inning, we really want to pound them hard and keep the foot on the gas from there."
Coach Needle, a Nova Southeastern University softball star, coached a while back for Broward State College. When she came to King’s Academy last season, she hadn’t coached in 15 years.
That the Lions’ only loss came against Broward power Stoneman Douglas 2-0 is a good sign.
Its best win came against Seminole Ridge. “We play as a team," coach Needle said. “Everyone has a part in our wins. We try to win the small details and small goals inning by inning."
Forest Hill had an extended team meeting on the field after the game was stopped. Several players spoke up about issues facing the Falcons.
Forest Hill, which fell to 5-5, had only the minimum of nine players because of illnesses, girls away for the holiday weekend and a band commitment.
“We’re a very young team and had stuff going on today but it was just not our day," coach Christina Carvatta said. “We talked about we’re a lot better than we showed. That talk right there was what we needed bad."
Forest Hill senior Sabrina Diaz, who had pitched a complete game the day before vs. Somerset Canyons, was pressed into duty as Forest Hill’s other pitchers were out.
“I’m proud of her because she shows a lot of heart and dedication," Carvatta said.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: King's Academy softball maxing out freshmen potential in 2024
