Vikettes, best friends sign letters of intent
Published 11:36 pm Wednesday, November 14, 2018
- Katelyn Umholtz | The Valdosta Daily TimesSince they were nine years old, Rylin Hedgecock and Sophie Sumner have been best friends for as long as they've played softball.
VALDOSTA — For almost 10 years, best friends Rylin Hedgecock and Sophie Sumner have learned and nearly perfected the game of high school softball together.
On Wednesday, they signed college softball letters of intent together too.
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The ceremony was held at the stage of the Lowndes High School cafeteria with family, friends and coaches present.
Balloons of cardinal red and orange — for University of Arkansas and Mercer University, respectively — were put on a table with high school jerseys and softball helmets.
Even though they verbally committed their sophomore year, Hedgecock signed for Arkansas and Sumner for Mercer.
“It’s a bittersweet day seeing them go on to the next level, but it’s sad to know that a storied career on Lowndes High is over,” Lowndes coach Stewart Thomas. “I know they’re going to do big things at the next level.”
Hedgecock and Sumner became best friends around the same time they started playing softball.
They were age 9 at hitting practice. Sumner was afraid to speak to Hedgecock because of how much taller she was.
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“I thought Rylin’s little sister was my age and Rylin was older,” Sumner said. “I thought she was scary because she was so much taller than me.”
The two Lowndes students are used to living only a few minutes away from each other. They’ve shared classes together, they always see each other at practice and they usually don’t go more than a few weeks without seeing each other.
Now, they’ll have almost 800 miles between them as they embark on their college softball careers.
“That’s probably going to be the hardest thing is not seeing them play together,” said Sara Sumner, Sophie’s mom. “We’ll get to watch Rylin on TV, and Mercer is just two hours up the road. We’re excited to see them at the next level, but it’s a little bittersweet for sure.”
They aren’t letting the distance keep them apart, though.
Hedgecock and Sumner said they plan to keep in touch, and there’s always break visits they can rely on to talk about all things softball.
“She’s a pitcher, and I’m a catcher — there’s always a bond between pitchers and catchers,” Sumner said. “The fact that we were best friends made it even stronger.”
College is still months away, so the two leading Vikettes still have plenty of time to celebrate their successes they brought to the Lowndes diamond.
Hedgecock finished her senior season with a .549 batting average, 12 home runs and 43 RBIs, while also earning her 500th strikeout of her pitching career.
She finished her season with an 1.108 ERA and has earned the title of all-region pitcher of the year thrice and all-region player of the year twice.
Sumner ended her senior season with a .494 batting average, eight home runs and 27 RBIs. She had a perfect fielding percentage, while also earning all-region player of the year this year.
Katelyn Umholtz is a reporter with the Valdosta Daily Times. She can be contacted at (229)244-3400 ext. 1256.
