Lady Tiger Agner commits to play softball at Delta State
Photo: From left, Amy, Ally, and Tommy Agner. Ally Agner, a Hernando senior, signed a softball scholarship offer from Delta State on Wednesday, Nov. 29. (Bob Bakken/desotocountynews.com)
Hernando softball outfielder Ally Agner has had her senior season taken away, thanks to a torn ACL injury. The injury has not taken away a college softball career, however, and Agner made sure of that Wednesday when she signed to play next year at Delta State University.
“I have always wanted to play college softball and being able to do that is a dream,” Agner said.
Agner has had a pretty successful softball career up until the injury. Coach Nicki Whitten said Agner has been a part of a 6A state championship team, a state runner-up team, and a part of 91 victories in 113 outings over three years since joining the Lady Tigers as a freshman.
“She means a lot to us,” Whitten said. “Ally came to us as a freshman and she has started most every game. She is a big character kid and that’s what she has helped to instill here at Hernando.”
Delta State hopes Agner will put some pop into a program that struggled last season, finishing the 2023 year with a record of 18-34, 12-18 in Gulf South Conference play on the diamond. The Lady Statesmen think enough of Agner that they kept the scholarship offer open to her, even after the ACL tear.
“With them allowing her to keep her scholarship even after tearing her ACL was huge, so I think they are going to be a really good fit for her,” Whitten said, with Agner adding, “It means a lot. It shows that they really care about the person that I am rather than just what I am on the field.”
Agner has been impressive in the field, though. The first-team-all-DeSoto County outfielder last season as a junior fashioned a .375 batting average and a .505 on base percentage. Agner drove in 19 runs on 33 hits that featured six doubles and two triples, along with 12 stolen bases. In the field, Agner has a .980 fielding percentage, skills she will bring to the team this spring coaching Whitten’s outfielders.
“She’s actually asked me for a coach’s jacket, so we’re getting her one of those,” Whitten said.
“I love how it is like a small town and you get to know everybody,” Agner said about Delta State, located in Cleveland, Mississippi. “And the coaches make it feel so welcoming and like a family.”
