Sister Act: Sheltons a great addition for Lexington High School softball team
Before even meeting them, Laurie Epps knew there was something different about Kiley and Karley Shelton.
The Shelton sisters sent separate emails in late summer to Epps, the Lexington High softball coach, to let her know that they would be attending Lexington in the fall and wanted to play for the Wildcats.
Kiley and Karley and their family were relocating from the Tampa, Florida area to South Carolina because of their father’s job.
“I knew they were different when they were the ones who emailed me and not their parents that they were coming to Lexington. So I knew there was something different about them then,” Epps said Wednesday. “Then their work ethic, they practice before practice and after practice. They are always out here doing something.
“They are competitors and whenever you get competitors like that on a team, it only helps the rest of your teammates. They are a great addition. I am happy they are here.”
Epps was glad the two were there during Wednesday’s 5A playoff opener against JL Mann. Kiley Shelton, a senior center fielder, went 2-for-3 with a two-run double that gave Lexington a lead in the third inning.
Then, Karley, a junior, came through with the biggest hit of the game as she led off the bottom of the seventh with a solo homer to right-center field to give the Wildcats a 4-3 victory over JL Mann. She also was the winning pitcher in the game.
“I was due. It has been a while,” Karley said of Wednesday’s game-winning homer. “I’m just going to put a good swing on it and see what happens. I put a good swing on it, and when you put a good swing on it, stuff could happen.”
Kiley was on deck to witness her sister’s homer and one of the first to greet her at the plate. The two sisters are very close but have different personalities, with Karley a little more outgoing than her older sister.
Lexington (22-2-1) defeated Blythewood 11-1 on Friday and will host a district championship game on Wednesday. Kiley hit a homer in that win and had four hits, while Karley added two hits and was the winning pitcher.
The two both had their reservations after moving from Florida. The Sheltons played the last two years at Newsome High in Lythia, a suburb of Tampa. Karley hit 12 home runs as a freshman and hit .507 as a sophomore. Kiley hit .342 last season and drove in 20 runs.
“Definitely was a little upset at first, but I was up for the new challenge and the environment,” Kiley said. “It has been an adjustment but a good adjustment. All the girls have been really nice. We just came together and jelled pretty well.”
Karley said her new teammates and coaches have gone out of their way to make the transition easier.
“It was a little different coming from Florida. But as soon as we got a hold of everything and got a chance to meet all the girls, everything was fine and I loved it,” Karley said. “The girls always have my back, and I always have theirs. We have a great bond.”
On the field, the two sisters have had a big impact for the Wildcats, who won the Region 4-5A championship and are looking for their second straight state championship appearance. Lexington lost its best player from last season in Sarah Gordon, the S.C. Gatorade Player of the Year who is having a big freshman season at Louisville.
But the two have stepped in and been two of the team’s top hitters. Kiley, a Colgate signee, leads the team with eight home runs and 38 RBIs and is second with a .474 batting average.
Karley is third on the team with a .437 average and has three home runs and 31 RBIs. She also is 2-2 as a pitcher with a 1.21 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 23 innings going into Wednesday’s game.
Karley is one of the top prospects in the country for the Class of 2024 and committed to South Carolina in August. She picked the Gamecocks over Ole Miss, Clemson and Alabama.
“I love the staff and competition and want to be able to grow as a person and as a player when I step foot on that campus. I fell in love with it,” Karley said of USC.
The two sisters began playing softball at a young age and come from an athletic family. Their parents, Eric and Bonnie Shelton, both attended Charlotte University, where Eric was team captain his senior year on the 49ers baseball team and Bonnie was a pitcher for the softball team.
Caleb Shelton, Kiley and Kiley’s other brother, is on the Alabama baseball team and set the freshman school record this season with 16 homers. Caleb and South Carolina star freshman Ethan Petry were teammates on the same travel ball team in Florida.
“Everything runs in the family,” Karley said. “My parents played, their parents played. When we got old enough, I say around 3 years old, they said pick up a ball and start going. We started rolling and fell in love with the sport.”
This story was originally published May 5, 2023 at 7:30 AM.
