Landrey Dance is sitting at her vacation spot in Panama City, Florida. Not far away, beautifully clear water off the Gulf of Mexico laps at the coast in a striking contrast of emerald green and sugar-white sand.
The Simon Kenton senior is winding down her last high school spring break trip to Florida. It’s just a few hours after the April 8 solar eclipse, and the beach awaits.
In the meantime, Dance is talking about the sun, the moon and Simon Kenton’s stars. She said the difference between this season and last is like night and day.
“We have one of the best players,” Dance said. “Emilie Young is a senior, too. We’ve known each other a while. She’s a really great player. We have lots of great players. That’s why I like our chances.”
Dance hit .315 with three home runs last season. She’s most valuable in the pitching circle, where she won 10 games as a junior with a 3.23 ERA in 21 starts. She posted a 3-3 record in her first six starts this season with an ERA moving closer to 4.00 as the Pioneers faced a tough early schedule. She hit two home runs in her first eight games.
It’s Dance’s last year playing organized softball. She expects to be concentrating on studies after Simon Kenton while attending cosmetology school.
“Right out of the gate, our schedule was super hard. I didn’t expect the final scores in some,” Dance said. “We had nice wins, though. I’m not worried because I know how much better we are.”
Dance pointed to victories over 9th Region stalwarts Conner, Cooper and Dixie Heights as evidence. After the break, Simon Kenton took a tough 3-0 loss against defending champion Highlands. The Pioneers hope to fare just as well against 8th Region opponents.
Emilie Young stayed home for spring break. She also had time to reflect on the season’s opening weeks.
“We’re better in the field,” Young said. “Historically, we haven’t been the greatest there. We’ve concentrated on that. We have good hitters. Landrey carries a dominance when she’s on.”
Young would know. She’s Simon Kenton’s catcher.
“Landrey’s really good at getting movement on her pitches,” Young said. “She can pitch it inside and outside and up and down in the strike zone.”
Young is a returning all-8th Region standout and a Transylvania University softball commit. She belted a team-best six home runs with a .530 batting average in 2023 and finished among state leaders in doubles and RBI. She’s back at it again, hitting a team-high .500 from the No. 3 spot in the batting order after the first three weeks of 2024.
She plays for her father, Pioneers coach Chris Young.
“I’ve always played for my dad,” she said. “It’s really cool. We find a lot of enjoyment because it’s a common interest.”
A veteran travel ball coach, Chris Young is in his third year at Simon Kenton. He guided the Pioneers to back-to-back appearances in the 32nd District tournament final and the 8th Region tournament. The Pioneers last won the district in 2019.
Coaches ranked the Pioneers No. 5 in the 8th Region preseason poll. They voted Emilie Young the region’s fourth-best player. Dance and junior Larkin Mitchell also received votes.
“Obviously, we want to win the district and the region,” coach Young said. “I think this is our best chance since I got here.”
While every game is important, it’s all geared toward the end.
“I’m not a big wins and losses guy early. I want us playing better late,” the coach said. “We play a tough schedule. We did that toward the middle of the season my first two years and played a lot of tougher teams at the beginning this year.”
Coach Young resists temptation to give Dance a lot of early innings, which plays into his philosophy of carrying a deep bench.
“I don’t want to pitch Landrey every game because I don’t want her getting tired,” the coach said. “I like to play lots of girls and develop game experience so they can jump into their roles. Every girl I’ve dressed this season has an at-bat.”
The dividends are paying. Eighth-grader Cara Swope ranked second on the team in batting average (.444), just ahead of Mitchell (.423). Sophomore Adreena Barton (.333) was next followed by eighth-grader Myka Brown (.313) and freshman Taylor Jones (.292).
Freshman Jayden Jones hit .381 last season and senior Addi Johnson hit .349, so coach Young knows those bats will come around. The Pioneers ranked 35th in the state last season with a .358 team batting average.
“I think we’re battle-tested already,” the coach said. “Winning those early games without getting our bats going is big. We’ll do a lot better when we start hitting.”