One of the more memorable moments last season for the Gahanna Lincoln High School softball team occurred in a 7-6 win over Oregon Clay.

With runners on second and third with two outs and the Lions trailing by one, the Eagles elected to pitch to Kayla Ledbetter. She made them pay, as she drove in the tying and winning runs with a single.

Clutch hitting such as that helped Ledbetter earn a scholarship to Miami University. After verbally committing to play for the RedHawks last February, she signed her national letter of intent on Nov. 11, the first day of the NCAA's fall signing period.

"I've never had anyone hit over .600 like (Ledbetter) did last year," Lions coach Jim Campolo said. "She had 38 walks last year, and the majority were intentional walks. That tells you what the softball community believes about her."

Gahanna's starting catcher since her freshman season, Ledbetter batted cleanup, finished with more than 30 RBI and hit .629 with seven home runs last year. She was also named Division I district Player of the Year.

Gahanna played Pickerington Central three times last year, including in a district final, where the Lions lost 5-4. Ledbetter was walked six times during the teams' two regular-season games and four times in the tournament matchup, with three coming intentionally.

"I went down to school there and just fell in love with the coaches and everything about it," Ledbetter said of Miami. "Their weight room is ridiculous. There isn't one thing about Miami that I don't like."

Last season, Miami won the Mid-American Conference tournament and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the second time in pro-gram history. The RedHawks won their first NCAA regional tournament game before losing to Notre Dame 5-3 to finish 33-24.

Ledbetter also considered Bowling Green, Michigan and Kentucky before committing to Miami. Also signing with the RedHawks were Olentangy Liberty's Kirstie Fehrenbach, Elgin's Brandi Hernandez and Grove City's Paige Myers.

"(The Miami coaching staff has) a lot of fun, but they teach discipline first," said Ledbetter, who plans to major in education, with a focus on secondary mathematics. "They're basically my ideal coaches. Coach (Kelly Kovach Schoenly) was an All-American in college and is all about education first. I just really liked that their attitude is that either you do your schoolwork or you don't play."