There is an old saying that home is where the heart is. For Bailey Killough, there really is no place like home.
The Allan Hancock College freshman threw a complete game no-hitter on Jan. 28 in the team’s second game of the season against San Diego City College. Killough, an Arroyo Grande High School graduate who was slated to play this year at Division 2, was named to the All-PAC 8 League first or second team after each of her sophomore, junior, and senior seasons. In August, Killough left for Hawaii and spent the first semester of the academic year at Hawaii-Hilo before deciding to return home in January.
There were a number of factors that went into her decision to return to California. Originally, her goal after high school was to attend college somewhere in the state, but she settled for Hawaii-Hilo when nothing materialized, she said.
“I didn’t end up liking Hawaii as much as I thought I would,” Killough said.
Coupled with family issues back at home and a slower pace of play than she anticipated at the next level, Killough decided it would be best to return to California.
At least in the short term, it seems as though her decision is paying dividends. Hancock was 3-0 through the end of January and has outscored its opponents 42 to 3 through the season.
“She has jumped on in with us and has been a great addition,” coach Scia Maumausolo said of Killough.
Killough has contributed in all aspects of the game, Maumausolo said. In the team’s first game of the season, Killough threw two innings of no-hit ball in relief of Shannon Petersen, and added three RBIs in the game to boot.
Contributing both on the field and at the plate is something Killough takes great pride in. She considers herself an all-around player, capable of helping the team even when she is not on the mound.
In the game against San Diego, Killough carried a perfect game into the final inning before a batter reached on a catcher interference call. Killough remained collected and recorded the final two outs to compete the no-hitter, giving her eight consecutive innings without a hit to start the season. She also added an RBI double in the second inning of the game.
The stellar start to the season has the Lady Bulldogs poised to achieve their team goals in 2017. Killough said that winning the conference title this year is one of the team goals she is looking to help achieve. Personally, she is still aiming to move to a Division 1 or two school after her time at Hancock, but added that it won’t be the main factor in her decision.
Instead, Killough said that academics will weigh much more heavily on her decision. She’s interested in studying criminal justice with the goal of becoming a lawyer.
This article appears in Feb 9-16, 2017.