Lucy George, ranked in July as one of the Top 10 prospects in the 2027 Line Drive Hot 100, has been impacted by nagging leg injuries but she looked great this weekend in helping her Louisville Lady Sluggers – Huecker/Norwood 16U team to a 4-1 record playing in the Veterans Tribute up an age level.

The team has one of the best pitching tandems in club ball right now with Lucy, looking nearly healthy and strong, and fellow 2027 right-handed Courtney Norwood, a Top 5 overall player in the 2027 class, playing at high levels.

Lady Sluggers coach Scott Norwood was pleased with how the team did, including the success in the circle from his elite right-handers.

“We really played great this weekend, and we played up in the 18U division as well,” he said today.

“Courtney and Lucy are definitely a powerhouse pair of 2027’s and give us a strong one-two punch in the circle.”

Both pitchers got equal time with six innings each this weekend and both were effective:

• Courtney only gave up one hit with a 0.00 ERA while striking out 12 batters
• Lucy gave up three hits and had seven strikeouts with a 2.1 ERA

George, who has been suffering from hip and knee pain, looked about “90 percent healed,” per Coach Norwood.

George posted on her X/Twitter account today how happy she was with her weekend’s production:

Great weekend with @sluggers_16U going 4-1 playing up in 18u against some stacked teams. I’m still healing and getting stronger. I gave up 2 Runs this weekend. Thank you to all the coaches that watched us. @_TimWalton @FranEnea10 @MRhodesSmith @KarenWeekly @rittmanjohn… pic.twitter.com/We0KTqYtdd

— Lucy George (@LucyGeorge34) November 10, 2024

And she has another sport, if you will, to thank in her recovery.

“Lucy just started incorporating swimming in her weekly training,” Coach Norwood continues. “She is dominating and I can’t wait to see her at 100 percent!”

In our most recent evaluation of the strong high school sophomore class, Lucy—then playing for the Beverly Bandits organization—was ranked at No. 9 in the 2027 Line Drive HOT 100 and Courtney at No. 5.

Courtney was all but untouchable this weekend… here she is in action with video clips she posted on her X account:

Pitching highlights from this weekend at Veterans Tribute playing up in 18’s.
6 IP, 12 K’s, 1 H, 0 BB, 0.00 ERA @sluggers_16U @FastpitchPower pic.twitter.com/sP3ikQHCGX

— Courtney Norwood (@courtneyn2027) November 10, 2024

his Dynamic Duo of pitching aces—when on top of their game—will make it very tough for any team, 16U or 18U, —to match up well and put a lot of offense on the board.

Here’s how the pitchers’s Hot 100 bios read after their strong 2024 Summer successes:

T-5—Courtney Norwood, P, Lady Louisville Sluggers 16U – Huecker/Norwood
Courtney is an effective and efficient pitcher who gets her job done in generating outs, whether it’s swings and misses, strike outs or feeding the defense.  She is an intimidating presence at 6-foot and throwing in the mid-60’s. The 2027 grad has poise and command of all her pitches, but what makes her most effective is her ability to change speeds and eye levels on any count. When Courtney is in the circle, she is laser focused and doesn’t show a lot of emotion.  She has pinpoint accuracy and loves to throw the change up on a 3-2 count.  Courtney is very polished in the circle and her presence can be overwhelming . For the Summer, she had a 1.87 ERA and, at Scenic City Top 25, Courtney was all but untouchable with a 0.41 ERA in 17 innings pitched. For her South Warren (Ky.) High team this year she had 139 K’s in 98 innings with a 1.35 ERA.

T-9—Lucy George, P, Beverly Bandits 16U – Hardin
Lucy is described by Head Coach Kyle Hardin as having a ton of success on the mound and “isn’t like most pitchers we see… she isn’t out there looking to blow the ball past you, she has true spin and uses every side of the plate. With her variation of spin, she keeps hitters very off balance and guessing.” In the Fall of 2024, Lucy helped her team go 32-8-1 and pitched 107.1 innings with an 18-5 record as a first-year 16U standout. The 2027 grad gave up only 14 earned runs and had 119 strikeouts with a 0.91 ERA and a .201 BAA. This Summer, she started off with a 14-3 record and in 95 innings pitched had 122 strikeouts with just 24 earned runs. Coach Hardin adds: “Lucy’s poise on the mound is what sets her apart and she wants the ball in the biggest moments. She’s getting a lot of attention from all D1 levels including many Power 5 schools.” This year as a Freshman at Western (Russiaville, Ind.) High, she was named All-Conference for helping her team win the Indiana 3A State title as she pitched a complete game shutout in the championship giving up just two hits and striking out 16 in the 1-0 win.

Note: The Lady Sluggers will be at the Clearwater Showcase next weekend in Florida and Shannon (my wife of six weeks-plus now!) and I are looking forward to being there to check out great players and teams in action.

We’ll have a lot of coverage from Clearwater so keep checking in!

— Brentt Eads/Line Drive Softball
Brentt.Eads@LineDriveMedia.com