Hard-hitting seniors have Franklin Regional softball in good spot
By:
Wednesday, March 19, 2025 | 2:27 PM
Standouts Toryn Fulton and Ciara Camacho are finally seniors — it seems like they have been in the Panthers lineup for much longer than four years — so that means one more season of bashing softballs to the gaps and over fences.
The pair of Division I recruits will look to lead the Panthers on a playoff run that lasts past the quarterfinals.
Fulton, a South Florida commit, hit .673 with a brow-raising 2.019 OPS and 1.296 slugging percentage. She had eight doubles, seven home runs, 26 RBIs and 31 runs.
The tall shortstop was intentionally walked 10 times. She was a TribLive Westmoreland first-team all-star.
Camacho, a speedy leadoff hitter who has played catcher and outfielder but will move to second base, was a second-teamer.
“I expect to be competitive this year as always,” Panthers coach Jim Armstrong said. “We had a pretty young team last year and definitely had some growing pains. I feel like we will be all around better this year. We will have much more depth in the pitching department.”
Franklin Regional, which finished 10-9 last year and lost in the first round of the WPIAL 5A playoffs to Shaler, 3-2, also brings back junior Adrianna Martz, sophomore third baseman Ceana Copeland and junior pitcher Chloe Lancaster.
Others expected to contribute are senior outfielder Sierra Downs, junior infielder Averi Lamfrom, junior outfielder Olivia Cowell, sophomore first baseman Ava Rhoten and sophomore catcher Alex Speranza.
Additional pitchers are sophomore Madison Hill and freshmen Bella Sala and Mia Martz.
“I think that the experience the younger girls had last year and a year of travel ball will help improve on our hitting,” Armstrong said. “I expect to be much better offensively and defensively.”
Armstrong begins his 23rd year as head coach, 27th overall with the program.
He was the junior varsity coach from 1999-2002.
The Panthers opened the season at a tournament at Vero Beach, Fla., starting the campaign 2-2.
Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.
Tags: Franklin Regional
More High School Sports
• High school scores, summaries and schedules for March 21, 2025• Plum’s Owen Proskin wins national title in pentathlon, looks forward to outdoor track season
• High school roundup for March 21, 2025: Lily Duffill belts 1st homer of season to spark Chartiers Valley
• Balanced scoring sends Neighborhood Academy into state finals
• Berks Catholic a little too much for North Catholic in state semifinals
