While lacrosse season starts for some schools last week, the spring sports season will get underway in earnest today. Baseball will officially start for most Division I schools next week, but here are the Hillsborough products who will start their spring season this weekend:
Mia Davidson: The all-time leading home run hitter in Mississippi State history, baseball or softball, Davidson will kick off her final season with the Bulldogs on Friday in the Mark Campbell Invitational. Mississippi State will face Loyola Marymount, then face #1 Oklahoma at Bill Barber Park in Irving, California. On Saturday, the Bulldogs will take on #4 UCLA, then end the weekend with another game against Loyola Marymount. This is the 40th Mississippi State softball team. To commemorate the anniversary, Mississippi State released its 40 greatest players in team history. Davidson was named to the all-time team. Davidson, the catcher for Orange’s 2017 3A State Championship team, was named an All-American in 2019. A two-time All-Southeastern Conference selection, Davidson holds the school record with 69 career home runs. She needs just two more to tie the SEC career record. In 2019, Davidson hit 26 home runs. Davidson holds the Mississippi State record for most NCAA Tournament games played (19).
Montana Davidson: Mia’s older sister was a third baseman at Orange. She enters her final season at Mississippi State after playing 58 games in 2021, starting 57 at third base. Last season, Montana hit .257. She was fifth on the team with 23 runs scored and 21 RBIs. Montana was a three-time All-State selection at Orange playing for her father, Eddie Davidson.
Tori Dalehite: The UNC Greensboro softball team begins its season in the Feisberg Invitational at Florida International in Miami, FL. On Friday, the Spartans face #18 Tennessee, then will take on Florida International later in the day. The Spartans will also battle Maryland on Saturday. Dalehite was the 2018 Big 8 Conference Hitter of the Year for Cedar Ridge. She won two Big 8 Conference championships with the Red Wolves, including the first title in program history in 2018. Dalehite, a sophomore, played in 12 games last season. She had one at-bat and mainly played as a pinch runner.
Jaden Hurdle: Hurdle will start her second and final year at Patrick Henry Community College on Friday afternoon against USC Union. Last week, Hurdle announced she would compete her college career at Catawba College.
Grace Andrews: The Catawba Valley Community College softball team was supposed to start play last weekend, but a series against East Georgia State College and Patrick Henry Community College was rained out. This weekend’s series at the Highland Recreation Center in Hickory has also been canceled because of COVID precautions. Last season, Andrews hit eight home runs for the Red Hawks. She led the team with 41 RBIs as CVCC finished 23-13-1.
Kara Tackett: A freshman at Wake Tech, Tackett was the extra hitter for the Orange softball team last season. Tackett hit .462 with five doubles last season for a Lady Panthers team that won the Big 8 Championship in 2021. The Lady Panthers went undefeated in the regular season.
Madison Bartlett: Another former Orange player now a freshman at Wake Tech. Bartlett was a shortstop in 2020 who had her senior season was limited to four games because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bartlett was a starter for Orange’s 2019 team that tied Cedar Ridge for the Big 8 Regular Season championship. In 25 games as a varsity player at Orange, Bartlett hit .367 with 29 hits, 19 RBIs and eight doubles. Wake Tech will open against the Willam Peace University junior varsity squad in a doubleheader on Friday in Raleigh.