Crutchfield hired as Lions’ assistant softball coach
Special to The Clinton Courier
Clinton Christian Academy graduate Kaeleigh Crutchfield, a former pitcher for the University of West Alabama and Jones College, is in her first year as assistant softball coach at East Mississippi Community College. She joined the EMCC athletics family in January 2023, when she was hired by interim head softball coach Mackenzie Byrd.
Crutchfield posted a two-year pitching record of 11-10, while making thirty-six total appearances with twenty starts, during the past two seasons at UWA. After going 5-3 as a junior in 2021, Crutchfield finished second on the Tigers’ staff with a 6-7 mark during twenty appearances and thirteen starts in the circle last season. She also tossed seven complete games, including a shutout, a year ago.
Prior to her West Alabama playing days, Crutchfield split two seasons of junior college softball between NJCAA softball powerhouses Jones College and LSU Eunice. As a sophomore at Jones, she made ten pitching appearances for the Bobcats’ 43-8 team that claimed the 2019 regular-season conference championship with a 25-3 league mark. The year prior as a college freshman, Crutchfield was 3-1 with a shutout and a save, while making twenty appearances with six starts, for the 49-20 LSUE Bengals squad that finished fourth in the 2018 NJCAA Division II Tournament.
As a multi-sport student-athlete at Clinton Christian Academy, Crutchfield capped her successful prep career in the circle by posting a 20-2 record with 173 strikeouts and a 1.54 earned run average in 120 innings pitched as a senior. The right-handed pitching ace earned district MVP and MAIS All-State honors in helping lead the CCA Warriors to the 2017 South State and district championships. Along with setting school pitching records in softball, Crutchfield was also a track standout in the 800-meter run during her high school days.
Having previously earned her bachelor’s degree in sport management in December 2021 as a Dean’s List student at the University of West Alabama, Crutchfield is on target to complete her master’s degree in the same field of study this May from UWA.
