Rumans breaks HR record

Junior becomes Panther softball’s greatest-ever home run hitter

  • Press photo/Will Woolever - Junior Kendall Rumans (center, holding plaque) is pictured with her softball teammates after breaking the program’s career home runs record versus East Henderson April 8.
    Press photo/Will Woolever - Junior Kendall Rumans (center, holding plaque) is pictured with her softball teammates after breaking the program’s career home runs record versus East Henderson April 8.
  • Press photo/Will Woolever - Junior Makayla Pendergrass evades a tag at home plate versus East Henderson April 8. Seemingly unbeknownst to her and the catcher, the ball is still lying on the dirt.
    Press photo/Will Woolever - Junior Makayla Pendergrass evades a tag at home plate versus East Henderson April 8. Seemingly unbeknownst to her and the catcher, the ball is still lying on the dirt.

    Panther softball has a new all-time home runs leader.

    For the past three years Kendall Rumans has rewritten the program’s record books, setting single-season and career records in RBIs. With her 29th home run Rumans broke Haeli Bryson’s career mark, etching her name forever in the team’s storied history.

    After routing West Henderson for first place in the Mountain Seven, on April 8 the Panthers hosted another conference game. In a rematch of their 10-0 win at East Henderson March 7, Franklin made quick work of the Eagles once again, scoring one run in the first, three in the second and three more in the third.

    With one runner on and two outs, Rumans found her record-breaking pitch, launching a home run to left-center field. The ball cleared not only the outfield wall, but McConnell Field’s fence several yards behind it, coming to rest in the baseball outfield for one of Franklin’s longest home runs in recent memory. The shot gave the Panthers their fourth and fifth runs of a seven-run inning, before a six-run fourth cemented a 17-2 win.

    “It’s pretty cool,” said Rumans after the game of breaking Bryson’s record. “Just thinking about all the people that came before me, it’s pretty cool. Not that I beat all of them, but just to think that I’m up there with them is really cool.”

    For a program that has churned out Division I talent in recent years like Taylor Ensley, Tori Ensley and Mckenzie Redoutey, not to mention Bryson, Penny Moffitt, Crystal Tallent and others, Rumans has entered rarefied air. Still with at least six games left to play in her junior year, she also owns Franklin’s RBI records for both a single season (46) and a career (110). In improving to 12-3 overall and 7-0 in the conference, the Appalachian State commit said her team will be ready down the stretch.

    “I feel like we’re doing really great,” she said. “I feel like we’re all hitting really good together as a team and we’re first in the conference so far, so I feel like if we just keep playing our game then we’re definitely going to win conference, and I think we have a good chance in the playoffs this year. We’re all just playing really good together as a team.”

    Two nights later the team traveled to Pisgah for another conference game. In a rematch of Franklin’s 7-0 rout in Canton March 14, the Black Bears exacted revenge, riding a four-run fifth inning to a comeback 6-4 win. Senior Jozy Dehart led Franklin’s offense in the loss, going 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and a run scored. Freshman Suzanna Cabe also notched two hits and a stolen base.

    The next night the Panthers returned to Macon Middle School for their third conference game of the week. In a rematch of their 3-1 win in Waynesville March 11, Franklin made quick work of the Mountaineers, scoring runs in every inning including a five-run fifth. Cabe was spectacular in the 11-1 win, belting a grand slam to left-center field and racking up nine strikeouts on the mound. The win improved the Panthers to 13-4 overall and 8-1 in the Mountain Seven, ending the week as the eighth-ranked team in the 3A West.