FRANKLIN — Franklin catcher Avery Moffitt was reacclimating to softball after the Panthers' girls basketball team was eliminated in the playoffs. It didn’t look like she needed time to adjust during the first game against Roberson.
Moffitt blasted a pitch for a wow moment two-run home run in the 7-0 victory against the Rams.
“It didn’t just clear this fence,” Franklin coach Bobby Bishop said. “There’s about a 20-, 30 foot-piece there and the boys' fence, and it cleared and went over all the way into the boys' baseball field.
“She’s just got an extremely quick bat, and she doesn’t even have to swing out of her shoes to do that because she is just so big and strong.”
Where did Moffitt get that kind of power? Look no further than her mother, Penny Moffitt.
Penny Moffitt played on Franklin's first fast-pitch softball team. She pitched and was an incredible batter for the Panthers. She was named All-Western North Carolina three times and Player of the Year twice.
Moffitt continued her softball career at UNC Greensboro, where she played third base from 2000 to 2003. More than 20 years later, she still ranks fifth in career home runs with 36 and fourth for RBIs with 151 for the Spartans.
Avery Moffitt, who has a .545 batting average, six home runs and 17 RBIs in six games this season, said her mother has always been her biggest supporter. She believes Penny Moffitt hasn’t missed more than five games her entire life.
“Just seeing what she did throughout college and high school was just really inspiring to me,” Avery Moffitt said. “It made me want to be more like her.”
But her father, Justin Moffitt, was the one who introduced her to softball. He signed her up for T-ball when she was 4, and she has loved it ever since.
Justin Moffitt played baseball and was a standout basketball player for Franklin. He said his daughter’s talent comes straight from her mother. But Avery Moffitt’s main position in the field is center field like her father.
“It’s been really cool for Avery to chart her own path, work hard and not take anything for granted or feel entitled based on her mother’s accomplishments,” Justin Moffitt said.
He usually takes Avery Moffitt to work on hitting in the batting cages, while Penny Moffitt takes her to many of her travel tournaments.
Avery Moffitt said how much her mother and her talk after games depends on how the contest went.
“If I struggled a lot, we do talk about what I could have fixed and watch the videos back of my hitting,” Avery Moffitt said. “Whatever she has of the game, we watch it back together and see what I could fix.”
After a big game, they talk about what she and the team did well and how they can keep the momentum going.
Penny Moffitt said seeing her daughter follow in her footsteps has been fun.
“There’s nothing more rewarding than to be able to come to your hometown field where you played as well and to watch her softball journey right where you played,” Penny Moffitt said.
Justin Moffitt said he thinks the greatest similarity between the way his wife and daughter play the game is their ability to do whatever is best for the team.
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“Not always about the home run or the long ball,” Justin Moffitt said. “It’s being consistent and putting that ball in play and making things happen for your team.”
Just like her mother, Avery Moffitt plans to play softball at the next level. She signed to play at North Georgia, the program is the defending NCAA Division II champion.
Justin and Penny Moffitt are excited about their daughter’s future.
"Whatever that may look like,” he said. “If it’s college softball and she continues it for four years, or something else. Whatever the next chapter brings, we are so fortunate to watch our daughter grow and mature.”
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: How Avery Moffitt is following in her mother's footsteps for Franklin softball
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