Carrboro softball showing speed on the basepaths

There are two ways to get to second base on your own in softball. You can either hit a ball into the gap or get to first and steal a base. One may look prettier or be more powerful, but at the end of the day, they both are the same number of bases.

The Carrboro Jaguars (8-2) often rely on the latter, leaning on their ability to get on base and steal them in lieu of having traditional power hitters.

“That’s what we live on, our speed,” coach John Faircloth said.

The Jaguar’s quickness was on full display March 10 against Chapel Hill. Carrboro stole second at will and was aggressive on dirt-ball reads and passed balls to steal third and then home.

Leading the charge was leadoff hitter Jadin Dewith, who scored four times against the Tigers.

“We have several really quick, quick runners,” Faircloth said. “Jadin is definately one, but pretty much our first four batters are all pretty fast.”

The speed of the Jaguars’ baserunners can offset some troubles at the plate. Despite having 13 strikeouts against Chapel Hill pitcher Camryn Anthony, Carrboro won the game 11-9.

“They hadn’t seen one with pretty good movement like hers yet this year,” Faircloth said. “So I think it caught them off guard the first couple of innings, but then we adjusted and started putting the bat on the ball so that helped.”

Put the ball on the bat, steal some bases and score enough runs to win. So far this season, the Jaguars have used that combination for their best start in school history.

This story was originally published April 8, 2017 at 5:11 PM with the headline "Carrboro softball showing speed on the basepaths."