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Despite a tough loss to East Coweta on Friday, the Troup softball team had plenty of reasons to celebrate. The Tigers honored former player Hadilee Arnold and her family before the game with a check for $4,000, no small sum for a high school softball program to raise.

Arnold, a member of the Troup softball team for four years, was injured in an automobile accident in May of this year and has been in the hospital recovering ever since. Every step of the way Arnold’s softball family has been there.

“They have been such a blessing,” said Kristin “Sassy” Hull, a family friend by title, but if you were to ask Arnold, Hull is family. “Hadilee loved the Troup Tigers, so to see the coaches, players and everybody come together for Hadilee has been such a blessing.”

With Arnold on the mend in Atlanta, the softball program has been a support system for the family. It is not just the softball team, but the school and the community at large that has rallied around Arnold.

“It’s really nice to see because you don’t realize how much you mean to so many people until something like this happens,” Hull said. “I think you can see just how much everybody around her loved her and nights like tonight are a testament to that.”

Aug. 3 will serve as another important milestone in the remarkable life of Arnold. The Troup graduate will be celebrating her 18th birthday. In a year full of difficulty and struggles, Arnold has made so much progress since that fateful day in late May.

“From the time of the accident to now, we have seen major progress,” Hull said. “She still has a long way to go, but she has also come a long way.”

The smiles, laughter and tears flowed before the game on Friday as the Arnold family was lifted up by those who hold them so dear. To keep up with Arnold’s journey, follow the Facebook page Healing for Hadilee.

 

THE GAME:

There was precious little to write home about once the game commenced as Troup had to contend with one of the best softball teams in the state regardless of classification. East Coweta put the Tigers to the sword early, scoring 12 in the first and four in the second to take a commanding 16-0 lead.

The Tigers would finally get on the board in the bottom of the third when senior Camdyn Bassett hit a one-run double. It was the only hit of the game for the Tigers as they were one out away from being on the wrong end of a no-hitter.

The Tigers used their top three (healthy) pitchers — Kaitlyn Smalley, Kaylee Umfress and Kennedy McCoy — who got to go up against some Division I bound hitters. 

Troup starts the season 0-2 with the caveat that the Tigers have played two teams ranked second in their respective classification. It does not get any easier from here with their region opener against no. 5 Whitewater at home next Tuesday.