Jefferson Davis softball dominant in run to SCISA Class A state title

Blackville – The Jefferson Davis Academy softball team had a good, not great regular season. Now the postseason, that’s a totally different story.

The Raiders were dominant in sweeping their three games in the Class A state tournament in Sumter and then sweeping Cross Schools in the best-of-3 state championship series for JDA’s first softball title in 19 years.

“The regular season was really three parts for us,” said Jefferson Davis head coach Bart Owens, whose team entered the postseason with a 9-7 record but finished at 14-7 with the five wins. “We played well in the first third, the middle third we struggled, and the final third of the season we got hot and played well in the postseason.”

That might actually be a bit of an understatement. The Raiders outscored the opposition 55-6. They defeated Wardlaw 16-3 in their opening state tournament game and followed that with a 17-1 win over Laurens Academy. JDA then earned a berth in the championship series for the second straight year with a 7-1 win over Cross Schools.

Cross Schools would be Jefferson Davis’ foe in the championship series after it knocked off Laurens 4-3. It was to no avail though as the Raiders won Game 1 4-0 at home and then traveled to Bluffton and clinched state with an 11-1 triumph.

“We really bought into what we were coaching and the results were great,” Owens said. “We were dominant in the postseason. We played really good defense and we pitched well.

“Going into the state tournament I felt really good about our chances. We were playing at a really high level and last year prepared us for this year.”

Senior pitcher Reagan Still agreed with her head coach in regards to being swept by Wardlaw in last year’s state championship series and its affect on the team.

“I think it made us a better team,” Still said. “We knew what we had to do to get better. In practice we worked harder.”

Senior third baseman Gylian Googe said the team came together during the postseason.

“In the regular season we didn't really work together as well as we could have,” Googe said. “It wasn’t really like a team. We had a sit-down talk before the tournament about how we needed to be a team and play for each other, and that’s what we did.”

Being able to send Still to the circle was a nice option to have. Still, whom Owens said is the best pitcher he’s ever had, is High School Sports Report’s Class A Player of the Year as well as the Region 1 Player of the Year.

“Reagan Still in the circle gives everyone a sense of “We can win the game,’ “ Owens said. “She pitches well all the time, but our defense has let her down on some occasions. But late in the season and the playoffs we were playing great defense.

“Defensively we struggled midseason, but at the end of the year our defense was our strength.”

Still said the strong defensive play definitely made her job easier.

“I just try to pitch the ball where it's supposed to be pitched and let the defense work behind me, and stay ahead in the count,” said Still, one of two seniors on the team along with Googe. “The defense really came together for us.”

Joining Still, who has signed to play collegiately with Florence-Darlington Technical College, on the HSSR All-State team are catcher Kinlee Ray, Googe, centerfielder Carrie Lynn Loadholt and second baseman Sydney Owens. Still, Loadholt, Ray and Owens were All-Region picks along with Rynn Fickling.

The Raiders had a collective .372 batting average in the postseason. Loadholt led the way with a .526 average to go with five runs scored and four runs batted in. Still batted .474 with two doubles, six RBI, five runs and five stolen bases.

Googe, who struck out only five times over the course of the season, batted .421 with eight runs and a team high 10 RBI. Kaylee Jackson batted .417 with a triple, seven runs and four RBI, Fickling batted .333 with a team high nine runs and six stolen bases, Maseline Respass batted .312 with a double, five RBI and four runs, Riley York batted .308 with four RBI and six runs, Sydney Owens batted .308 with five RBI and three runs, and Ray batted .263 with a double, four RBI and six runs.

“Offensively, we were decent this year, but late in the year we were awesome,” said Coach Owens.

Both Googe and Still said winning a state title as seniors is something they will never forget.

"It was very exciting,” Googe said remembering the moment the Raiders clinched the crown. “We were nervous the whole time, but we got there and we won it. We won and then we all cried.”

“It was fun. It was exciting,” Still said. “I've waited my whole life for that moment.”

LOADHOLT, CROFT, WILLIAMS BASEBALL ALL-REGION

Colson Loadholt, Logan Croft and Landon Williams were selected to the All-Region 1 baseball team.

Loadholt led JDA with a 356 batting average to go with two doubles, three, triples, two home runs, a team high 30 runs and 12 RBI. He also stole 34 bases. Croft batted .322 with a team high 21 RBI and 14 runs. Williams had an on-base percentage of .324.

Pitching-wise, Williams owned a 2-2 win-loss record and three saves with a 2.37 earned run average in 22 2/3 innings. Loadholt was 2-5 but had a 2.17 ERA in 38 2/3 innings. Croft was 2-1 with a save and a 4.06 ERA in 29 1/3 innings

The Raiders finished the season with an 11-11 record. After beating Wardlaw Academy 2-1 in the best-of-3 first-round series, they were swept by eventual 2-time defending state champion Richard Winn Academy in the semifinals.