ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Hutto leads hot-hitting Lithia Springs

https://www.mdjonline.com/neighbor_newspapers/west_georgia/sports/athlete-of-the-week-hutto-leads-hot-hitting-lithia-springs/article_0797d6f6-b080-11e8-8109-f7a1856caebf.html

By Tom Spigolon, 9/4/2018

Lithia Springs softball player Regan Hutto is leading her region in hitting; carries a 3.85 grade point average; takes dual enrollment classes; and serves as a staff sergeant and company commander in her school's Marine Corps Junior ROTC program.

Pitcher and first baseman Regan Hutto is on a tear in the early part of the 2018 season for the hot-hitting Lithia Springs softball team.
     Hutto, a junior, was getting a hit every two out of three times she was officially at bat for the Lions.
     She was leading Region 6-AAAAA with a batting average of .692 last week, including 18 hits and 16 runs batted in 26 at-bats after eight games.
     Her hits overall included three doubles, according to information on the MaxPreps website. She also had a four-hit game against rival Chapel Hill.
     Hutto had an on-base percentage of .742 and a slugging percentage — total number of bases per at-bat — of .808, said Head Coach Chris Sheperd.
The Lions were 7-4 overall after winning their first two region games.
     Hutto, 16, said she believed this year’s team led by Sheperd was “sharper” and had a more “proactive” attitude toward competition compared to the 2017 team.
     She and teammate sophomore Lauryn Kinkle at .625 were the top two hitters in the region last week. Teammates junior Sierra Lopez, junior Anayah Baker and senior Dia Thomas joined Hutto and Kinkle as half of the top 10 hitters in the region, according to MaxPreps.
     Hutto said her favorite position is pitcher, despite her lofty numbers as a hitter. Her earned run average was 4.24 with a 2-3 record, though she also had struck out 19 batters in 31 innings pitched, Sheperd said.
     The daughter of Marisa and William Hutto, Regan also does well in the classroom, her mother said.
She is carrying a 3.85 grade point average and is enrolled in the Biomedical Pathway of classes in Lithia Springs’ STEM Academy magnet program. She also takes dual enrollment classes, Mrs. Hutto said.
Hutto also serves as a staff sergeant and company commander in Lithia Springs’ Marine Corps Junior ROTC program.
     Mrs. Hutto said she believed Regan will continue to excel both academically and athletically because of her work ethic.
​     “She has the heart to do that,” Mrs. Hutto said.
     Regan is not a “natural” athlete as some teens are meaning she had to work harder than some to excel at softball, her mother said. She began playing organized softball at age 8 and currently plays in the offseason for the Georgia Fire travel team. This is her third season playing for Lithia Springs.
     Hutto said she plans to major in some kind of medical discipline in college, which she hopes to pay for with a softball scholarship.