BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
BEAUREGARD — On the recreational fields behind Beauregard High School, a sunburnt, blonde 4-year-old looked to the varsity stadium and dreamt of the day she would play on that hallowed ground.
It was the summer of 2012, and that wide-eyed little girl was just learning how to knock a softball almost as big as her off a tee after her parents decided to sign her up for a sport she was destined to love.
Long before she ever donned the royal blue and gold, Lindsey Moulton was that little girl peeking through the fence at the varsity players and picturing the day she would be in their shoes.
And little did she know at the time, but she was destined to become more than just a Lady Hornet, but also one of East Alabama’s best softball players more than a decade later.
A pickleball regular, volleyball and basketball enthusiast, off the field and a do-everything player since she was first able to swing a bat, Moulton said the recognition meant more than she could have imagined.
“I didn’t realize [being Player of the Year] was an option, and it’s a really big deal to me because it’s not just at Beauregard, it’s all around in this area,” Moulton said. “There are so many girls that are very good softball players, and I think being chosen for that [award] is very important. I was just very shocked in the moment, with it being my senior year and leaving.”
This season, BHS’s opponents found out just what that homegrown talent could do.
In 146 at-bats, Moulton notched 63 hits for a .432 batting average, 15 home runs, 77 runs, 45 RBIs and 64 stolen bases to go with an 89.3% fielding percentage on 169 total chances.
In the circle, she served as the second-choice pitcher behind ace Raegan Brooks, racking up 88 ⅔ innings while giving up 94 hits, 70 runs — 44 earned — walking 36 and striking out 36 for a 3.47 ERA and 1.47 WHIP.
Outside of her impressive stat accumulations, Moulton delivered countless highlight-reel-worthy moments throughout the season.
Against Valley High School on April 16, she went 4-for-5, driving two home runs while bringing in eight baserunners and scoring three runs herself.
There was also the first area tournament game against Elmore County High School on May 1, when both of her hits were home runs that drove in four total runs and helped her tally three of her own.
Of all her accomplishments this season, the one that primarily stands out in her mind was the number of bases she stole.
Considering the next-closest qualified player considered for all-area selection, Cayden Henderson had 29, it’s an achievement she’s right to be proud of.
“Even if I get walked or get a single, I can steal second, and I know my players behind me are going to get me to third,” Moulton said. “[McKenzie Handley] bumps me over, then Raegan hits me in. It’s a cycle we kept repeating.”
Her selection as The Observer’s Player of the Year isn’t the first time she’s garnered attention for her exploits on the diamond.
As a sophomore, Moulton was named to the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s 5A all-state second team, and cleared the bar she set for herself by making the ASWA’s 5A all-state first team last year as a junior.
Putting together a campaign like this year’s, though, required something extra.
So, she came into her senior season with a simpler plan: get on base, trust the lineup behind her and let the chips fall where they may.
After sliding from the two-hole up to leadoff, she chased singles and let her teammates do the rest.
While she had several slumps like any other player, her strategy paid off.
The Lady Hornets reached the state tournament for the third straight year, punching their ticket with a 4-0 regional tournament elimination game win over Shelby County High School that Moulton counts among her favorite memories.
“It was another step forward, going to the state tournament three years in a row, and we made history,” Moulton said. “I think it was a really big deal with us coming off that loss to Holtville.”
Throughout her career, Moulton also readily displayed her versatility and do-anything attitude.
She started at shortstop as a child before drifting to first base, the pitching circle, the outfield once she got faster and back into the infield toward the end of her career.
“I was finally growing into really showing the good things I could do,” Moulton said. “I realized that if I keep putting the work in, I can get a lot better than I already was.”
However, the growth didn’t always come easily.
She remembers the visceral fear she felt as she checked into her first-ever varsity game as a freshman, and the realization this year she was now the senior she once looked up to in the dugout.
Early this past season, she also found herself frustrated amidst a hitting cold streak as she pushed to perform at the highest level possible.
While she leaned on fellow seniors Brooks and Shelby Craft, and junior third baseman Ellie Burroughs, among others, she found solace slipping off to the cage by herself to grind through batting drills until she found her sweet spot.
She also credited her parents and BHS head softball coach Nathan Langley with her development as a person and a player over the years.
When reflecting on his departing star’s career, Langley said her work ethic and ability to transition from quiet underclassman to outspoken leader set her apart.
“Lindsey as a player is probably better defined by her as a person because of her character with the way she approaches every day and how she goes about everything,” said Langley. “She’s trying to be the best version of herself at all times. She doesn’t sit there and let other factors try to control her. She’s doing what she can do to make herself better, and that’s what’s made her improve from when I got here in her 10th grade year to now.”
Off the field, the fierce competitor softens.
Moulton admits she plays with an edge sharp enough that opponents might mistake her for a “mean girl,” but she insists the scowl stops at the foul line.
As she heads to Chipola College to continue her softball career and major in marketing with a minor in sports management, the legacy she hopes she leaves behind has nothing to do with numbers.
“I really want people to look back and say, ‘Do you remember Lindsey Moulton?’” Moulton said. “Like yeah, she was a big-time hitter and a good softball player or whatever, but I want people to think about how much of a good teammate I was. Or even the little kids coming up to me and being like, ‘She spoke to me once, she was really sweet.’ Little things that don’t necessarily have to do with softball.”
