By Ross Johnson

Sports Writer

The LaGrange Academy softball team is hitting its groove - literally.

While Lady Warriors’ head coach Charles Parker insists his team’s pitching is the centerpiece for the 2009 squad, the offense has churned out a pair of impressive outings.

The Lady Warriors (6-2 overall) have won each of their last two match-ups by 12 runs, including Monday’s 12-0 shoutout win over Logansville Christian in four innings.

LaGrange Academy also tallied a 12-0 win over King’s Ridge Academy Saturday, which was one day after an eight-inning, 4-3 win over defending state champion Terrell Academy.

“They key is pitching for us,” Parker said. “But our top four hitters will pave the way to what we do.”

Those top four hitters are sophomores Khadija Neely and Molly Child, junior Marina Wilkerson and senior Abby Child.

Molly Child was the starter on the mound in Monday’s win, and she notched four strikeouts and had no walks.

Sister Abby and Molly will be the top two starters in the mound this season, and Parker is looking for big things out of both of them.

“If they stay fresh, I think we’ve got a chance to be real good,” Parker said.

Of course, if the offense of the past two games surfaces often, the Lady Warriors will be tough to stop at the plate, too.

LaGrange Academy scored 10 runs in the bottom of the first inning, led by Abby Walker, who had a two-run triple, and Abby Child, who had a two-run single.

Neely, Molly Child, Abby Child each had RBIs in the inning, and Holly Gooch scored on a wild pitch.

Neely added another RBI in the second, and Gooch had an RBI groundout to give LaGrange Academy the 12 runs it needed to end the game in the fourth inning.

In Saturday’s win over King’s Ridge, Abby Child hit a grand slam in the rout.

While Parker admitted the past two opponents won’t be the most challenging they’ll see this season, it gives plenty of young players experience for the tough region games that await the Lady Warriors.

LaGrange Academy heads to Oak Mountain today, and will face Strong Rock and Piedmont this weekend.

Strong Rock, which Parker said would be a very tough opponent this season, handed the Lady Warriors one of their two losses this season.

“It’s still early, but I feel good about this team,” Parker said.