Gaffney Softball In Hunt For Region Title, baseball team Focused On Strong Finish

By Billy G. Baker

Publisher

Gaffney — The Gaffney Lady Indians (10-5, 3-1) softball team went into Spring break on a three-game win streak and first year head varsity coach Maddie Pruitt is excited about coaching at her alma mater.

“I played at Gaffney and graduated in 2014,” said Coach Pruitt. “I take so much pride in coaching at my alma mater. This is my first year as head coach after being an assistant for the past three seasons. I have taken this program in a new direction and with this season we are laying the foundation for the future of the softball program at Gaffney High School.”

Gaffney has three region wins over Dorman, Spartanburg, and Boiling Springs this season. They lost to region leading Byrnes earlier in the season. The Indians will play at Byrnes in a key region game on April, 9.

The team’s seven other wins so far this season came against: Pickens (9-3 & 16-5), Wren (11-1), Dorman (10-8), Seneca (8-7), Blue Ridge (9-2), Legion Collegiate (4-1), and Spartanburg (15-2). The other four losses were against Daniel, BHP, Riverside and Stratford.

Gaffney has only 10 players on the roster this season. All players are returners except freshman Ashley Caraway, 7^th grader Maysen Byars, senior Josie Stroupe (batting .414) and sophomore Madison Burgress.

The teams top two pitchers are a sister duo of Kourtney Caraway and Ashley Caraway. Kourtney has 17 K’s in 31 innings of work while Ashley has 22 K’s in 31 innings in the circle.

“We are fortunate to have Brooke Perry as our pitching coach and she played at Purdue and Gardner Webb,” said Coach Pruitt. “She is a tribute to our success in the circle.” Anna McGee is also an assistant coach with the team.   

Freshman Ashley Carraway (batting .564) is the lead-off batter for the Indians and she starts in left field.

Senior Jenna Paris (batting .600) starts in left field and she is a team leader and bats second in the order.  “Jenna is just a great all-around kid,” said Coach Pruitt. “She is a leader on and off the field.”   

Batting in the three-spot of the order is sophomore shortstop Korbyn Lydia (batting .435). “Korbyn plays hard and she is not afraid to make big plays,” said Coach Pruitt. “She welcomes pressure situations at the plate and she produces.”

Sophomore starting catcher Brooke Smith (batting 381) bats clean-up. “She is one of our key defensive players and she has saved us runs with her defense behind the plate,” said Coach Pruitt. “She is excellent at blocking balls and understands her role behind the plate.” 

Seventh grader Maysen Byars (bating .488) starts at second base and she bats in the five- hole. “Maysen plays like an upper- classmen and she produces at the plate,” said Coach Pruitt.  

Sophomore Kourtney Caraway (batting .439) is mainly a pitcher and she bats sixth in the order.

Junior team leader Dacey Phillips (batting .280) holds down a starting role at first base and she bats seventh in the order.  “Dacy is a player the other players on the team look up to,” said Coach Pruitt. “She is one of our team leaders for sure.”

Senior Josie Stroupe is the DP. Sophomore Madison Burgess starts in right field and junior Brooklyn Jennings is the team Flex.

One early set-back for the team was an injury to sophomore Mollie Byars in the team’s first home scrimmage prior to the season starting. Mollie only played two innings before her injury,” said Coach Pruitt. “She collided with another outfielder and she was slated to be our starting center fielder. This was a big set-back for us on defense. We had to sit back as a coaching staff and re-evaluate our defense and this forced other players to step up, and they have.” 

Coming out of Spring break Coach Pruitt pointed out some things the team needs o improve upon. “Our pitchers need to work ahead in the count and mot miss over the plate,” said Coach Pruitt. “In the hitting area we need to show more patience on wait on our pitch, and don’t get antsy with a 0 a 1 count. We need to stay in an offensive mind-set and only a defensive mind-set with two strikes.”

Entering the second half of the season, Coach Pruitt talked about the strength of the team. “We have “The Unity” with good team chemistry,” said Coach Pruitt. “Our players understand their roles in the game, whether a bunt or RBI situation. 

“They are learning the Big Picture of the game and how they are just a piece of the success of the team,” said Coach Pruitt. “We have stressed to our girls to be the best teammates they can be. And that goes beyond cheering for each other in the dug-out.”

Coach Pruitt offered some keys to having a very competitive game against region leading Byrnes when the two teams meet on April, 9. “First of all, we need make every defensive play on balls the Rebels put in play and have no errors to have a chance against them,” said Coach Pruitt. “We (Gaffney) need to be on time at the plate and hitting the ball from where it is pitched.”

Gaffney Baseball Team Focused On Earning Spot In The Play-Offs With Strong Finish

The Gaffney High baseball team went into Spring break (5-7, 3-4) and veteran head coach Jeff Mages knows just what to do to have a strong finish to the 2024 season.

“As a team we need to take advantage of runners in scoring position with timely hits,” said Coach Mages. “We are young but improving each game. We are looking forward to the second half of the season.”

Gaffney has five players batting over .300 at the break. They are Braden Beatie at .469 with 9 RBI’s and six doubles. J Bradbury is at .394 with one double. Garrett Moss is hitting .357 with four doubles. Scott Gilfillan is hitting .324 with three doubles and one home run, Drew Medley is at .304 with three doubles and two home runs.

On the mound the top three pitchers have been Medley who is 1-1 with 37 strike-outs and a 2.959 ERA. Gilfillan is also 1-1 with 27 strike-outs followed by Carson Bailey (1-1) with 14 strike-outs in 14.2 innings of mound duty.

In a 13-11 win over Spartanburg earlier in the season Beatle had a double with three RBI’s in the win. Sam Smith had two hits with two RBI’s in the win over the Vikings. Gilfillan had four hits and two RBI’s and Brady Smith scored three runs and got one hit. Medley had two hits and one RBI against the Vikings. Garrett Moss contributed two hits and two RBI’s in the win.

Gaffney will be at Broome at April, 1 and host Broome the next day. On April, 9 Gaffney will host Woodruff and Union County on the next day. The Indians meet Woodruff on April 12.

Two very important three game region series begin on Monday April, 15 with Dorman. One week later, the final three game region series begins with Boiling Springs.