Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

On Wednesday, Pike Liberal Arts School senior Haylie Brown signed her letter-of-intent to play college softball at Wallace Community College in Dothan.

Brown decided to sign with Wallace because she said it felt like home.

“I visited a lot of colleges but I knew once I visited Wallace – and talked to the coaches – that it was just home for me,” she said of her decision. “It just felt like home and I knew that’s where I wanted to go.”

Brown boasted a .369 batting average in 2024 with a .414 on-base percentage and .554 slugging percentage. She tallied five doubles, two ripples, a homer, 19 RBIs and 20 runs. On the defensive end, she held a .784 fielding percentage with 26 putouts, three assists and three double plays.

While Brown, who is also a starter on the Pike volleyball team, has been impressive during her high school career, she got a late start to the sport. Most college softball players play the sport their entire life but Brown didn’t start playing until her seventh grade year.

“I did gymnastics my whole life but it got to the point where I just didn’t really like it anymore,” Brown recalled. “I told my dad that I didn’t want to do it anymore and that I felt like I wanted to play softball instead. He said, ‘Once you pick up that bat, you’re not going to put it down; I promise,’ and here I am. I’ve loved it ever since.”

Brown said that she intends to pursue a nursing degree and that she will also pursue playing at a four-year college if that’s in the cards for her.

“I really just want to work and get better and I know that (the Wallace) coaches will help me become my best self,” said Brown. “I think I can play (at the four-year level). If that’s God’s purpose for me then I think I’d like to do that.”

Now, Brown turns her attention to her senior season at Pike.

“I really just want to live in the moment and enjoy it while I can,” she emphasized. “I know I won’t be able to get these years back and I just want to have fun and do my best.”