Page 46 - Winter 2022

Saxon drives into the paint and shoots a layup during an Oconee County Middle School basketball game.
extra loud just in case I don’t hear them. In school, I’ve always worn my hearing aids so I don’t miss anything and my grades won’t drop.”
Because she doesn’t use hearing aids during softball, Taylor counts on her coaches to call out instructions when she’s playing third base, first base or pitcher.
Hitting is a slightly easier task thanks to some other equipment Taylor wears.
“When I’m hitting, I wear wristbands that call out numbers to know what play it is,” she said. “They use their hands to call out the numbers.”
Taylor does not allow her lack of hearing to hold her back. In fact, it often has advantages while competing.
Most softball teams engage in team-wide cheers and chants in the dugout. It can create a raucous environment.
The goal of those player chants is to cheer on their teammates but also throw the other team—especially the opposing pitcher – off its game by causing a distraction.
Taylor does not have that issue when pitching for OCMS or her travel team.
“I can't hear them,” she said “so it’s good that I don’t get distracted that way whenever I’m pitching.”
Taylor has become a standout on the softball field.
Last fall for OCMS, she recorded 15 strikeouts during a game against West Jackson Middle School. OCMS also beat Malcom Bridge Middle School for the first time in six years during a game that saw Taylor strike out five batters in two innings of relief work and score the winning run on a wild pitch.
She was the leading batter for OCMS for much of the season and, at one point, she sported a .538 batting average, according to Kelly.
Taylor also competes for the EC Bullets-Clark 14U travel team. Though softball is a year-round effort, she finds time to play basketball at OCMS too.
When speaking about her athletic success, Taylor said it was bred by a desire to be the best on the field and the court.
“I’ve always had that mentality to work hard and drive myself to be better than everyone else,” Taylor said. “Once middle school ball started, I started pitching lessons, hitting lessons and getting into more workouts during the week. I began hitting off a tee a
PAGE 44 | OCONEE THE MAGAZINE | WINTER 2022
Justin Hubbard