Burroughs, Edgerton sign letters of intent

By Gabe Whisnant
Published in Sports on December 13, 2005 2:00 PM

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PIKEVILLE -- Somewhere around the age of 10, Charles B. Aycock seniors Kandace Burroughs and Brittani Edgerton started thinking about playing softball at the college level.

Recently, those young dreams became reality.

Burroughs, a 2005 all-state performer who hit .426 with 15 RBIs, has signed a letter of intent to play for Mount Olive under coach Jamie Kylis Higgenbotham. Edgerton, who had a .520 on base percentage and made just two errors primarily at second base last year, will take her consistent play to Pitt Community College.

"When I got into Hurricanes and travel ball in 10-and-under, I knew I wanted to play in college," Edgerton said.

Burroughs agreed.

"When you're playing travel ball, you're preparing yourself for a higher level," Burroughs said. "That's one of the main reasons to play travel ball."

Both have also been a part of a Golden Falcon program that has brought home three-straight Class 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference titles and advanced to the Class 3-A N.C. High School Athletic Association final four last year for the third time in four seasons under coach David West.

They admit that playing for Aycock carries a certain amount of pressure to win and perform, but believe that same spotlight also gives them more visibility to college coaches.

"It's a lot of pressure, but it's also really good because he (West) tries to get college coaches out here," Burroughs said. "He's very involved in our college recruiting."

Kylis-Higginbotham has been watching Burroughs for a while and is obviously pleased to bring in a local talent.

"I've had my eye on Kandace since her sophomore year. It would only be natural to bring her here to Mount Olive," she said. "She feels like a part of our family already, and we are extremely excited to have her join our family here at MOC. She will give us some power in our lineup which will make an immediate impact in our lineup."

Staying close to home and going to a smaller-college atmosphere were appealing factors to Burroughs, who plans to major in either dentistry or accounting.

"That (staying close to home) was a big priority for me. I don't like big cities or big schools, and being close to home was something I wanted," Burroughs said. "I like the coach and the whole school appealed to me."

Mount Olive finished 17-33 last year overall.

Pitt Community College coach Junior Bailey was obviously pleased with Edgerton's versatility as both she and Burroughs have played several positions during their time at Aycock. Bailey seems to like Edgerton more as an outfielder for his program.

"We are looking, at this point, to put Brittani in the outfield. We are also looking forward to taking advantage of her speed and bat," Bailey said. "We hope to work with her on redeveloping her pitching as well. In speaking with Brittani and her dad, I know that she will fit in well with players and the way that we play here at Pitt."

After completing two years at Pitt, Edgerton plans on transferring to East Carolina University to focus on a degree in elementary education.

Eventhough they already have their college plans set, Burroughs and Edgerton are looking forward to one more season playing for West and Aycock -- hoping to continue to build on the tradition.

"This year, we have a lot to prove. Since Jenny (Jackson) has left, I think a lot of people believe we're going to be an underdog this year," Edgerton said. "Eventhough we've lost our strongest asset in Jenny, we still want to come out on top."