Former Patriot returns to Williamsburg to work with Whitley softball teams

The Whitley County Lady Colonels are calling in some heavy hitters to help them prepare for the 2023 softball season. Later this month, the middle and high school teams will welcome in former Ohio Valley Conference Female Athlete of the Year, Paige Murphy (Eastern Kentucky University), for some special instruction, but just this past weekend a more familiar face was back in town to offer up her expertise.

Bethany Brown, who spent two years at the University of the Cumberlands as a player in 2014-15, and then another year-and-half with the Patriots as a graduate assistant, was back in town for a one-day clinic on Saturday, where she helped Colonel softballers work on their skills on the field.

“It’s the things that you do that aren’t mandatory that makes the biggest difference,” Brown said when asked what message she most wants to convey to younger players. “You can only get awarded scholarships based on just how above-and-beyond you’re willing to go.”

Brown, a Nicholasville native who graduated from East Jessamine High School in 2011, and played for two years at Carson Newman University in Tennessee before arriving at UC, remains active in the sport to this day, competing for the past three years in the slowpitch league of the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA).

“The team I played on my first two years was sponsored by Easton, Rawlings, and Smash It Sports,” Brown said. “This year, we are being sponsored by DeMarini and Wilson.”

Brown explained that the league she plays in is comprised of 20 teams that are located across the nation. Tournaments take her to several different states over the course of a year of competition, with a chance to play in a World Series event up for grabs for those who qualify.

Recently, Brown even got the opportunity to play for a U.S. National team, going up against a slowpitch team out of Canada in a “border battle” between neighboring countries.

“I didn’t know that slowpitch softball was such a thing,” Brown said of the initial years after her college career had come to an end. “But I got on a women’s team, and over the course of a couple of years I realized that there is actual, competitive softball still out there that is similar to what I experienced playing fastpitch.”

Brown said that she plans to continue playing slowpitch softball for now, but will likely step away when her child, who is currently on the way, is ready to begin an athletic career of their own.

With accomplished players such as Brown and Murphy sharing their knowledge, the Whitley County Middle and High School softball teams are gaining valuable insight that they will attempt to put to good use in the upcoming 2023 spring sports season.