Hardly a season goes by without the Lady Greyhounds being in position for a deep run into the state fast pitch softball postseason.
Recent seasons have seen a state title, berth in the state Elite 8 and hosting a super-regional continue to standard of success for the Lady Greyhounds, and similar barometers of expectations are in place again with a strong core of leadership and younger players making their way up the ladder of progression.
“We’ve got some good leadership coming back. They’ve seen a lot of softball for us, and know how to do things. We also have a talented young group to go with it,” Lady Greyhounds head coach Tripp Burt said. “They’re all battling for positions, and when you have people battling for positions, that makes everybody better. If you know someone is behind you, that makes you work harder and get better.”
One key piece of that experience comes within the pitcher’s circle. Last year’s top two pitchers will be back for the purple and gold as Cate Downey and Ansley Pegg return.
“In baseball and softball, having that upperclass experience, that can carry you a long way,” Burt said. “Cate and Ansley, they complement each other really well.”
Beyond those two, the Lady Hounds also have pitching depth to lean on. The importance of that was seen firsthand late last season when one of those two starting pitchers, Pegg, saw her season end early via injury. That’s when freshman Kaleigh Scarborough and another freshman, Ensley Barnes, stepped up, giving Jones County a chance before falling in the super regionals 4-0 to eventual state champion Northside Columbus as well as Statesboro, 7-6.
“We had some injuries toward the end, and they acted like they belonged,” Burt said. “We’re looking for a good year from them this year.”
At the plate, the Lady Greyhounds will look to Tranasia Parker’s power hitting from one of the outfield positions combined with the proven speed and clutch hitting by Myah Briscoe, who helped anchor the left side of the infield last year.
Two other key returners are outfielder Marissa Moore and second baseman Ella Jenkins, part of a group of position players to have either started or played extensively a season ago.
“Not all of them started, but they all played a lot of softball for us,” Burt said.
They’ll be part of a team that will go through a season with little margin for error. In seasons past, the top four teams advanced to region tournament play, allowing a lower seed to vault its way to a top seed for the state tournament.
That’s out the window this year as there will be no region tournament.
Instead, the top four seeds from the region will be set by the standings in the nine-team region.
That means, if a team can get an early lead atop first place, it’ll be harder to lose the top seed before the state tournament.
JCHS plays defending region champion Ola Sept. 4 on the road and Oct. 3 at home.
“It’s kind of like college football used to be, every game matters,” Burt said. “We have about two region games a week throughout the year and every one of them will mean something.”
