Published: October 04, 2007 11:52 pm         

Fayetteville grad Young signs to play at MSU

After graduating from Fayetteville High School in 2006, Savannah Young decided to take a break from a sport — softball — she had played for years.

But she eventually started missing the competition, so a recent call from Mountain State University coach Tim Berry proved fortuitous. Berry was interested in adding Young to the Cougars’ softball roster, and it got Young to thinking.

“I just decided I needed to go to school,” said Young, a two-time first-team all-state pitcher for the Pirates. “I (originally) didn’t want to play, but I did miss it.

“When (Berry) called, I figured I might as well take the opportunity.”

Young plans to enroll at MSU in the spring semester with a yet-to-be-decided field of study.

Her high school coach, Carol Learmonth, thinks MSU is getting a solid player.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for Savannah,” said Learmonth, who hung up her whistle following Young’s senior campaign. “She’s a very intelligent young lady. She’s very talented, and she pitched for us for four years. She had a tough freshman year, but the girls finally realized it was a team effort and the team made adjustments and (experienced success).

“I’m ecstatic for her. I’m happy MSU gave her a chance.”

In her senior season with the Pirates, Young registered a sparkling 20-4 mound record. She feels she can help the Cougars, 12-21 last year, either as a starter or a reliever, and with a variety of pitches.

After her layoff, she realizes now she has some work to do.

“I haven’t worked out much (in the past few months),” Young admits. “I will work hard this fall and winter and hopefully get back to where I was in high school.”

— E-mail:

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