Princeton sign national letters-of-intent

By Brandon Davis
Published in Sports on November 20, 2015 1:48 PM

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bdavis@newsargus.com

PRINCETON -- The miniature bulldog statue represented the school's mascot and history, but the national letters-of-intent on a cloth-covered table represented the futures of three Princeton seniors -- Hailey Wood, Kelsey Peedin and Matt Daughtery.

Wood, a pitcher for the Bulldogs' softball team, said that she has committed to Appalachian State University's athletic program.

"Well, it's always been my dream to play Division 1 softball," said Wood, who threw three no-hitters last year for the Bulldogs. "And the coach at App State, I feel like she can push me to the level I need to be to pitch my long-term goals in softball."

Wood has other dreams as well.

"I'm debating between pediatric oncology and something like nursing, so something in the medical field," she said, who has become a leader on and off of the softball field.

Wood's teammate and catcher, Peedin, stood with her family after she signed with North Carolina A& T State University. Peedin scored 18 runs and 12 hits during her junior year, but seeks more out of college than just softball.

"I really enjoyed it (A&T) when I went," she said. "I loved the atmosphere, the coaches, like they made me feel like it was home. They are willing to work with me in my academics, and the school is just perfect for me.

"I plan to play (softball) in college, and I guess we'll just see where it goes from there, and whatever God has planned for me, that's what I'll do. I plan to do exercise science, something in that field. I want to be like a coach or something like that."

Wood and Peedin helped lead the Bulldogs to the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 1-A state volleyball championship in 2014. The team returned to the state finals again just two weeks ago and lost to Alleghany.

Princeton head softball coach Terry Braswell feels the combination of Wood and Peedin, along with the rest of the team, sets a winning tone for the upcoming year.

"Both of them are good," he said, who remembers his team's 2-0 loss to Whiteville during the best-of-three N.C. High School Athletic Association's Class 1-A eastern regional championship series.

"One's a pitcher, and one's a catcher, so everything starts with them. We're looking for things out of both.

"We're trying to make adjustments to improve on what we did last year. We came up a little bit short in our playoffs, and we're trying to correct the problems."

Bulldogs' baseball pitcher and third baseman Matt Daughtery stood with his family while he watched the softball players sign their NLI's.

Daughtery, who had seven runs and eight hits last year, said he has committed to Barton College's baseball program.

"I really like the coaching staff, and I really like the program," he said, who will major in business administration. "I really love the community of Wilson. I would really like to be all-conference at least three out of the four years I'm there.

"I would love to go on and be All-American, and hopefully play in the Major Leagues one day."

Princeton head baseball coach Bruce Proctor couldn't be happier for his pitcher's decision -- and not necessarily because Daughtery's committed to college.

"I'm looking for senior leadership (from Daughtery)," Proctor said. "And the good thing is, this (signing) being out of the way, it's out of the way. He knows where he is going, he knows what he wants to do (and) he can just relax and enjoy his senior year -- have fun and be a team player."