APSU Women’s Softball
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University’s softball team has added speed and power during the early signing period with the addition of six players for the 2011-12 season.
The Lady Govs have announced the signing of third baseman Erica Reis, a corner infielder from Furlong, PA; Kady Bland, a catcher from Clarksville; Lauren Bradley, a middle infielder from Columbia; Paige Neely, a middle infielder from Nashville; Laurel Burroughs, a middle infielder from Lebanon, and Courtney Ervin, an outfielder from Seymour.
“These six young ladies will be a great addition to our team’s culture of being successful on and off the field with great academic achievements while being motivated to help our program win an OVC championship.”
Lauren Bradley
A Columbia native, Lauren Bradley has played middle infield and the outfield at Columbia Academy, where she has been a three-time all-district and all-district tourney selection. As a junior, she earned Tennessee Sports Writers Association All-State honors as well as All Mid-State by batting .554—she owns a .486 career batting average along with a .590 on-base average as a top-of-the-lineup hitter.
Playing for the Tennessee Thunderbolts this summer, she batted .420 with a .585 on-base average for a team that played in the ASA 18U National Championship tournament.
Paige Neely
Paige Neely is a middle infield candidate from Goodpasture Christian School, which won Class AA state championships in both 2007 and 2008 while finishing second in 2009. Last spring, the Nashville native was selected all-district and district all-tournament after batting .422 with 12 doubles, 11 triples to go with 37 RBI. In addition, she also was All Mid-State third-team as a sophomore.
In summer softball, playing for the Tennessee Elite Gold team and the New Jersey Inferno Gold, Neely batted .390 with an on-base percentage of .390. Neely played in the 2010 Champions Cup Tournament and in the 2010 Premier Nationals, both hosted in California.
Laurel Burroughs
Laurel Burroughs has played three seasons of softball at Friendship Christian and she has appeared in three straight state tournaments. A first-team Tennessee Sports Writers Association All-State selection as a junior, the shortstop batted .387 with 11 doubles and nine home runs while accounting for 30 RBI and 42 runs scored.
The Lebanon native was first-team all-district selection as both a sophomore and junior, earning district most valuable player honors in 2010. She also was selected to the Mid State Coaches Association All Mid-State team.
In summer play, she was a starter on the Tennessee Athletics team, coached by former Governors shortstop Jimmy Waggoner, that captured the 2008 United States Fastpitch Association (USFA) 14U World Series championship.
A versatile athlete, Burroughs is an all-district player in basketball and most recently in volleyball.
Courtney Ervin
Courtney Ervin has starred in the outfield for Seymour High School since she was a freshman, earning all-district tournament then and all-league in the newly-formed Inter-Mountain Athletic Conference as well as all-district as she batted .398 during regular-season play, .615 during IMAC competition, and at .429 overall with nine stolen bases.
She also has starred during summer ball for the Tennessee White Lightning and played for a U.S. Cup Team that traveled to the Netherlands last January.
Erica Reis
A third baseman from Furlong, Pa., Reis has built a strong reputation playing for the 18U Tuff-N-Tuffer Gold team, which has played in the America Softball Association (ASA) national tournament five straight years and won the 2007 Pennsylvania State Championship . This past summer as team captain, Reis batted .383 with three home runs and 32 RBI.
Reis is a Central Bucks High School product, who as a freshman in 2008 batted .471 with seven home runs and 25 RBI.
Kady Bland
Kady Bland has been Clarksville High School’s starting catcher since her sophomore season, batting either third or fourth in the lineup. As a junior, she batted .349 while leading the team in both doubles and home runs. In summer play, she has been a part of two United States Specialty Sports Association (USSA) state championship teams.
