ALL-AREA SOFTBALL: Princeton's Braswell named player of the year

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on June 23, 2017 7:12 AM

• Print
• Email

By RUDY COGGINS

rcoggins@newsargus.com

PRINCETON -- Stay on the path.

It's not an easy task when you're the lone senior who is expected to carry the torch for a tradition-rich softball program.

Beth Braswell did.

Tossed into a different role this spring, the Princeton pitcher wanted her fellow Bulldogs to follow in the paw imprints left from previous teams that donned the blue-and-yellow uniforms.

"It took everyone before us to get us to where we are now, so I tried to be like the people before me and lead just like they led me," said Braswell, who received the 2017 News-Argus All-Area Softball Player-of-the-Year award.

"I think I was able to handle it really well."

Braswell relied on the characteristics -- determination and hard work -- displayed by previous PHS players to motivate her teammates. The main chore was getting four freshmen to mesh with five returning starters.

The Bulldogs had to learn to play together, fine-tune their roles on the field, generate team chemistry and cultivate a competitive spirit synonymous with every sport on campus.

Princeton filed a 3-4 ledger by mid-March.

"We started out kind of slow," Braswell said.

Discouraged?

No.

Braswell, who morphed into an all-round player, showed little hesitation either inside the circle or at the dish. Errors --physical and mental -- couldn't become the enemy. She displayed an even-keeled emotion that inspired the newcomers, who bought into the system.

The tortoise-like pace changed when Princeton re-entered Carolina 1-A Conference play. The Bulldogs easily handled five league foes by a combined score of 70-4, then knocked off Triton and Apex in an Easter tournament.

"If I got out (hitting), I had to go out there and give my team a chance to get three outs quickly," said Braswell, who batted .449 with 31 hits, 26 RBI and six home runs.

"I had to forget about my mistakes quicker. I couldn't dwell on them."

Headed to N.C. Wesleyan in the fall, Braswell helped direct Princeton to an undefeated season (12-0) in conference play. The Dogs fell to Whiteville in the eastern regional semifinals and concluded the year 18-6 overall.

Braswell picked up 15 of those wins. She retired 152 hitters on strikeouts in 115-plus innings of work and manufactured a 1.45 earned run average (ERA). Opposing teams hit .197 against the right-hander.

During a four-year stretch, Princeton collected 78 wins -- including 46 in conference play -- with Braswell either at first base or on the rubber.

"Obviously we ended on kind of a bad note, but I think overall we had a good season," Braswell said. "We got it together and through conference, we couldn't have asked for it to be any better. We played great together as a team and in the playoffs. That last game we couldn't finish like we wanted to.

"I hope I did well leading the team."

And the pack followed her example.