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Avery Vaughn’s time on the diamond is just getting started, but she is already a star on the rise. The LaGrange Academy seventh grader packed a lot of lunch in her pint-sized frame and is a difficult out at the plate and even more difficult to get a hit off of when she is in the circle.

“I started hitting in the yard at a young age and really fell in love with (softball),” Vaughn said.

While her swing came early in life, her time pitching did not come until a bit later in life.

Vaughn has loads of natural talent, but she is also the hardest worker on pretty much every team she has been on. It’s not just a hobby for her, it’s her lifeblood.

“She loves the game. You gotta love it if you want to be a pitcher, man, You’ve almost got to work seven days a week,” LaGrange Academy softball coach Charles Parker said. “You know, she pretty well commits to working. She gives us 100% all the time, whether it is at practice or at a game.” 

Originally, Vaughn was mainly deployed in the field. This changed when she was around 10 years old and felt a yearning to give pitching a go.

“I thought it was gonna be fun. Whenever I started I had never even done anything with pitching at all. But then I  went to one lesson, and then I fell in love with pitching, and then I just kept doing it.”

Since the fifth grade, Vaughn has been helping the Warriors softball program. It has been a steady rise for the seventh grader, who had her best game yet in blue and orange on Aug. 19 versus St. Luke. Vaughn pitched a no-hitter in which she struck out 10 batters while also getting a hit and an RBI to her name.

“I had just came from a [travel ball] tournament where I pitched a no hitter, so I was feeling pretty confident,” Vaughn said. “It was really fun and I love getting the start at pitcher.

“I trust that my defense is going to do the job behind me,” she added. 

Despite her strong play on the diamond, even Vaughn still gets flustered on occasion.

“I get nervous sometimes, if we’re, like, playing a really good team, but I try to take deep breaths, and then I usually calm myself down and I’m good,” she said. 

The Warriors took their lumps a season ago and subsequently have grown and learned from that tough season. This year, the Warriors are off to a 3-0 start and Vaughn is one of the key contributors to their success.

When she is not starting in the circle for the Warriors, you can find her showing of her agility and range at shortstop.

“I usually played second, and then after I started pitching, I had started playing shortstop when I wasn’t pitching, and then I did both of them,” Vaughn said. “I prefer pitching because you are pretty much in control of the game. But shortstop is also really fun because you get to dive and stuff.”

The Warriors and Vaughn will get  another chance to show their stuff against St. Luke on Thursday as LaGrange Academy will host a rematch between the two schools.