Sports Notes: Kirby commits to UAB softball

Kirby will continue to play for head coach A.J. Daugherty, who recently left Wallace State to become the new head coach at UAB.

“Hey Coach @AJDaugherty1, I’ll see you on the field again in the fall, but this time wearing green and gold! I’m so excited to announce my commitment to play at UAB! So incredibly blessed for this opportunity!” Kirby tweeted.

Kirby, a 2019 Pisgah graduate who helped the Eagles win two state championships during her high school playing career, began her college softball career at Chipola (Florida) Community College before transferring to Wallace State for the 2022 season. 

At Wallace State, Kirby went 19-1 with a 0.91 ERA and had 168 strikeouts in 122 2/3 innings pitched and was named NJCAA second-team All-American, the NJCAA District 22 Pitcher of the Year, the ACCC Pitcher of the Year and All-ACCC and All-ACCC North while helping Wallace State win in the ACCC and advance to the NJCAA Division I National Championship Tournament.

Local baseball players honored for 2022 seasons — Scottsboro’s Waylon Farr and North Sand Mountain’s Derek Bearden have been named to AL.com’s Terrific 20 Baseball “Best of the Rest” list.

Farr was a senior outfielder for Scottsboro this past season, helping the Wildcats win the Class 6A Area 15 championship. The first-team all-state selection batted .405 this season (34-for-84) with nine doubles, one triple, three home runs, 24 RBIs, 24 runs scored, 21 walks, a .549 on-base percentage and 1.102 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage).

Meanwhile, Bearden batted .354 (17-for-63) with five doubles, six RBIs, 19 runs scored, nine walks and 19 stolen bases in 17 games for NSM this past season. The senior shortstop helped the Bison close the season by winning their last six games.