HHS girls ink college deals

Two Harlem High School softball players were honored Wednesday for earning scholarships to play at the next level.

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Kacee Camp will play for Augusta State University, and Brittany Newsome will pitch for Aiken Technical College.

Both made their decisions during November's early signing period. But Wednesday gave family and friends an opportunity to celebrate with them as the two girls "signed" their scholarships in Harlem's library.

"I want to make sure I give them their due," Bulldogs coach Jonathan Holley said.

Camp will take her game to Augusta State, where coach Melissa Mullins led the Jaguars to their first-ever postseason and first-ever national ranking to end the regular season last year.

Mullins said Camp has the game to compete at Augusta State, but she is uncertain about how much playing time she'll see as a freshman after the Jaguars' historic season.

"I don't want to say she will come in and make a huge difference, but potentially she could," Mullins said. "We didn't sign her early just to have her sit on the bench, that's for sure."

Newsome's competitiveness and longevity attracted Aiken Tech coach Rick Wells, who was on hand for Wednesday's signing.

Wells said Newsome would have to work for a spot on the field during her first season, but that the potential was there.

"She has the opportunity to get a lot of innings," Wells said. "We signed her as a pitcher. If she gets on the field in other ways, that's up to her."

Both girls expressed their disappointment in falling a game short of Columbus in the state tournament last season. Still, the Bulldogs finished with a 27-12 record, largely because of the contributions of Camp and Newsome, their coaches said. Holley estimated the teammates were responsible for about 90 wins during their four years.

Both considered attending Aiken Tech, but Camp chose the four-year degrees and attractive locale of Augusta State.

"It was closer to home," she said. "I wanted my parents to come see me play."