Highland infielder enjoys strong, albeit short, freshman season at Wabash Valley
Going into her freshman season at Wabash Valley College, Lily Garbett was set to have a big impact on the softball diamond.
It was a season, unfortunately, shorter than expected, but Garbett definitely made her mark as an infielder this spring.
Garbett, a 2019 Highland graduate, was a solid addition, as she hit .480 with four home runs in 10 games of the Lady Warriors brief 14 game season halted by the COVID-19 pandemic that has impacted the country.
“I finished my season off with a .480 (average) and I had four homer runs and I led the team in both of those (categories) and I felt like I was just getting comfortable and I was ready to go. So it’s (tough) the season ended because I was finally getting in my groove,” Garbett said.
Garbett had to make some adjustments to college competition. Offensively, she had to adjust to different pitching and show more plate discipline than at HHS.
“From high school (softball)to college (softball), you have to be more selective at the plate,” Garbett said. “In high school, I kind of knew (what pitches were coming) because I played against those girls forever but in college, they didn’t know me and I didn’t know them, so I was pitched (to) a lot differently. And you have to be more selective (with your swing).”
Her plate approach worked quite well as Garbett drove in 11 runs, and had a .519 on-base percentage and .960 slugging percentage as she helped the Lady Warriors to a 9-5 record, which featured wins in Mississippi and Florida.
On the infield, Garbett was strong and reliable as well, as she excelled playing at shortstop, second base, and third base. She had a .667 fielding percentage and committed only two errors in 10 games.
“My defense was good, I think I had just two errors and had fun and liked playing defense,” Garbett said. “In college, (the game speed) is much faster, but I like it fast because it’s easier for me to not make mistakes ... so the fast pace, I like it.”
Wabash Valley, based in Mount Carmel, played the final two games of the shortened season March 11 at Frontier College in Fairfield. That doubleheader ended up being Garbett’s best day of her freshman season as she went 7-for-8 with five RBIs and two homers in the Lady Warriors 7-3, 6-3 doubleheader victory.
“My last game I was 7-for-8 against Frontier with two home runs and I thought yeah this is gonna be a great year and I was excited and then it was like all that hard work ended up that we just didn’t get everything we wanted,” Garbett said.
Receiving the bad news about the season
Just a couple of days later, Garbett and her Lady Warriors teammates were told by coach Asa Defendall and assistant coach Pal Schnarre their season was done due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We were told that the season was over because of COVID-19 but weren’t expecting it to be over because Asa, our new coach, was one of the last coaches in the conference to be fighting to keep (us) playing and then it got canceled,” Garbett said. “This was probably one of the big years for us with the sophomores we have, we could have made it to Utah for the national (tournament) and all that stuff, so it’s kind of (tough) but hopefully next year we’ll be able to (do that).”
Since then, Garbett has been back home in Highland taking her general education classes online and trying to stay in shape for the coming fall exhibition season at Wabash.
“I have a bow net, so my mom helps me with that if I go to the field with some of my friends I used to play softball with through the years. I can’t really go to the gym so I just kind of do like workouts that are online or on the TV,” Garbett said.