Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Sophomore softball player Kaylee Cardwell’s time has arrived. The Troup Tiger played a role on the team as a freshman in 2023, but this year Cardwell is one of the first names penciled into the lineup.

Cardwell packs a lot of punch into a small package. As a freshman, that pop was not there, but she has worked tirelessly over the last year to improve her swing.

“I was really dropping my hands, so I took lessons from Skye Loftin and she really helped me improve my swing,” Cardwell said. 

It was a Troup connection as Loftin was a former standout player at Troup High before making her way to Point University to play college softball.

With an improved swing, comes improved results. The sophomore infielder hit her varsity home run against rival LaGrange to show off her newfound power and timing, the first home run of her career.

“It was so exciting because I have worked so hard to get my first home run and I’ve had such a great support system along the way,” Cardwell said. “I knew it was gone when it left the bat.”

“My biggest goal this season was to hit a home run,” she added. “I’ve only ever hit like one or two in practice.”

“Baby K” as she is affectionately known on the team, has been embraced by the team since she played up as an eighth grader on JV. 

“The (current) juniors really helped me adjust and have taken me under their wing,” Cardwell said. 

Despite appearing in 24 games last season, Cardwell was primarily deployed as a pinch runner and registered just eight plate appearances which resulted in just one hit, a single. 

Compare that to this season in which she already has four hits in 15 games and is an every-game starter in the middle infield or outfield, wherever she is most needed, though she feels most comfortable in the infield.

Defense is where Cardwell has shined in the early goings of her high school career. She is currently third on the team in fielding percentage (.964) and has committed just one error so far this season.

“I’ve played infield all my life, but I will help the team wherever they need me,” Cardwell said. “I’ve always been a strong defensive player which is why I worked so hard on my hitting.”

Cardwell is already making an impact on the team, but she is also one of the future. As just a sophomore, there is still plenty of room for growth over the next couple of years.

“I play travel ball when the high school season ends, so I’m always playing and trying to get better,” she said.