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By Jay Spivey

For the Clemmons Courier

Abby Hunter’s passion for softball not only shines on the field but it comes through in the tone of her voice. 

Hunter, who graduated from West Forsyth in 2023 and played basketball and softball there, is now prospering as a softball player at Tusculum University, a tiny Division II school in Greeneville, Tenn., and competes in the South Atlantic Conference. 

But even though she’s playing softball in college, she laid the groundwork with her time at West Forsyth, as well as playing in many showcase tournaments. 

“I decided to go to camps to showcase my ability to the best that I can,” she said. “And playing in tournaments to get better and become the best player possible. Also, it is good to just know people, as well introduce yourself, because you never know what a connection is going to do for you.” 

Along the way, she had to make many sacrifices, mainly being a normal teenager, by being away from home almost every weekend. 

“It’s very good to have a person in your corner to know and guide you through not what you want to do, but put in you in the right position to where to be,” she said. “And that was my father (Brad Hunter) in that aspect. Because he had my best interests at heart. He knew what going and playing college softball can do for you as a person and make you grow.” 

She had a reprieve after Tusculum ended its season this past spring. 

“It was nice – It was my first summer not playing softball and not going to camps,” Abby Hunter said. “I have missed it, and I go train and workout almost every single day. But yeah, it was definitely a learning curve to give up what your friends were doing in order to pursue your goals and what you want to do and what you love.” 

After a while, her mom, Shauna Hunter, came along with Abby and her Brad Hunter. 

“Towards the end my mom went to almost every single one, especially when I went to Colorado and California,” Abby Hunter said. “My father didn’t go because he couldn’t take off work. So, me and my mom went.” 

That gave the Hunters a chance to spend time with each other while Abby traveled to play softball. 

“It was definitely good to experience other places and get out of North Carolina and just see the world a little bit,” Abby Hunter said. “It was nice to be with the people that I love the most – my mom and my dad.” 

Abby Hunter had two other people on her side – Kevin Baity, her softball coach at West Forsyth, and Catrina Green, who was her basketball coach there. Green just recently resigned as head girls basketball coach. 

“(Baity) gave and my parents a lot of advice on how to go through certain situations like when I broke my shoulder and tore my labrum,” Abby Hunter said. “He was there. He was encouraging me to get better and going back out and telling me the things to do to make me be the best player that I can. He was very supportive.” 

Abby Hunter said she hurt her labrum before her junior year at West Forsyth and broke her shoulder before her senior year. 

“My labrum didn’t fully heal until, honestly right before I broke my shoulder,” she said. “It probably took a whole year for it to be 100%. And like I said, Coach Baity was there. Like he, when we were in practices, he would encourage me to take it easy and to not hurt myself because he knew that high school softball wasn’t just it. That I had a future in this.” 

Breaking her shoulder added a whole list of other issues. 

“Hurting my shoulder, that was definitely a lot more hard because I was going into my senior year, and you know you want to experience senior night, you want to experience everything as a senior,” Abby Hunter said. “So, it was definitelytough because I didn’t know whether or not I was going to be able to play basketball. But I got healed up and was able to play.” 

As senior on the Titans’ girls basketball team, Abby Hunter, according to MaxPreps.com, played in 27 games and finished averaging 5.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2 assists per game, helping them to a 16-12 overall record. 

“I think that it helped (with softball) tremendously,” she said. “I think that being a dual-sport athlete is much better than being a single-sport athlete because, not only do you learn the rules and things for that one sport, you learn for another and it prepares you.” 

According to Abby Hunter, basketball made her hustle, which ran over into softball. It also helped that she played high school softball at a high-level softball program in a large NCHSAA Class 4-A school. 

“I think the coaches there, especially Coach Green and Coach Baity always had my best interests at heart,” she said. “I think that Coach Green pushing me to be the best person and player that I can be really helped me. I don’t where I would be without either of them.” 

After her senior year with the Titans, in which the team finished 20-4 overall, where Abby Hunter ultimately decided to play in college at Tusculum with Head Coach Julier Huebner and Eric Krenz, he assistant coach. 

“It’s a Christian school and I am a firm believer in my faith,” Abby Hunter said. “And so, that was a very big effect on that. It was a small town. I’m a small-town girl. I choose to maybe move to Mocksville maybe once I get out of college. 

“It’s very quaint there. It’s nice. There’s not a lot of students, actually, The students there, it’s less than the students at West Forsyth. So, it’s a very small school. Everybody basically knows everybody.” 

Listed at 5-foot-6 and a utility player for the Tusculum Pioneers, Abby Hunter said she only played center field this past season. According tusculumpioneers.com, Abby Hunter finished her freshman season playing in 50 games and batted .316 with one home run and 13 RBIs. She also had 17 stolen bases. 

“I think it went very well,” she said. “I think I developed very much as a person and player. I think I could’ve put more effort into it in the beginning. It would’ve exponentially like been better. But I already know that going into my next three years because I know who I can be as a role model and as a leader. I know who I can be among my personal achievements and what I can do.” 

With no camps this summer to attend, Abby Hunter has been babysitting and working at a concession stand. She’s also been umpiring some baseball and softball games. 

“I got to see the game from a different perspective,” Abby Hunter said. “But I have a lot more appreciation for umpires now.” 

Summer is coming to an end for her. She reports back to Tusculum on Aug. 26 and starts fall workouts the following week in the fall to prepare for the season next spring. 

“I would love to expand my knowledge in the business aspect,” Abby Hunter said. “My major is business management and a minor in economics. I’m probably going to go into real estate (like her dad) or some form of business.” 

And like she said, she still has three more years of playing the sport she loves in college. 

“As a player I’d just like to be a good role model to all the other players. I’d like to improve my body strength to get stronger,” Abby Hunter said. “Maybe hit a couple more home runs. I only hit one last season. I’d like to break the stealing-the-base record. I’m pretty sure it’s four in a game for Tusculum.”