MABEN — It”s comforting to know you can play a bad game and still win, especially in the playoffs.
The East Webster High School softball team has been playing with motivation spawned from a late-April tornado that ripped through its school and community.
The team”s coaches and players believe their desire to win for the Cumberland community has given them a sense of destiny entering today”s Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 2A State championship series against Enterprise at Freedom Ridge Park in Ridgeland.
East Webster has had a handful of examples in the playoffs to point to as proof.
n It swept Hatley in the 2A North State title series last weekend after losing twice to Hatley in the regular season. The Lady Wolverines struggled in the circle, at the plate, and in the field and still managed a 4-3 victory in Game 2 of the best-of-three series. They experienced a similar situation in the second round against Mantachie.
East Webster coach Maleah Brown also points to the team”s playoff opponents and marvels at her team”s ability to remain focused and her players” ability to be clutch, even though there are only two seniors on the squad.
“We had Eupora (a three-game series), Mantachie, and Hatley, and I feel like that was the biggest thing to give them the confidence they have,” Brown said. “I”m overwhelmed we were able to beat them when it mattered after losing to them twice during the regular season.
“That second game against Hatley, nothing was going our way. But all of a sudden something would happen to make it all work out. I think in the back of our minds there is a little bit of destiny with us getting to this point.”
While Brown remembers the entire game and the turn of events that led to East Webster”s win, senior pitcher Swayze Hollenhead remembers one play against Hatley that sealed her belief that fortune favored East Webster (20-6).
“The sixth inning, a girl hit the ball good and it went to the fence, but all of a sudden it rolled under and it was a ground-rule double,” Hollenhead said. “But we looked at the fence earlier and didn”t find any holes. Crazy, but when I saw it happen, I thought, ”Goodness, how did that happen? That would have been a home run for sure.”
Navigating through its final two weeks of the regular season and its playoff slate has given Hollenhead, a starter for East Webster”s last state title team in 2009, confidence the young squad will be able to handle the pressure of a state title series, which begins at 1 p.m. today.
“I was nervous when I went up there for the first time,” Hollenhead said. “You kind of expect the girls to be that way, but we”re hungry for it and are playing with more confidence than we”ve ever had. There”s so much atmosphere with multiple fields having games. But I told them when that ball gets hit to you for the first time the nerves will immediately go away.”
East Webster will face an Enterprise, Clarke squad that has won 13 games in a row and is 27-5.
Pitcher Hayleigh Harper will be the biggest threat to an East Webster team that”s had hot-and-cold moments at the plate. Harper”s biggest asset is her speed, which Hollenhead said is far greater than her velocity.
Brown said Harper, who enters with a 1.04 ERA and opponents hitting .145 against her, is probably the best pitcher in any classification in the state.
“In practice, we”ve been at the machine and we”ve moved closer to the plate to try and simulate that speed,” Hollenhead said. “She can also hit her spots really well, so that”s something else we”ve had to focus on.”
Despite the challenge her players will face against Harper, Brown said she won”t change her lineup. Autumn Frost, Cayley McClellan, Hollenhead, Bailey Williams, and Montana Spencer hit in the first five spots.
“I”ve called a lot of coaches about Enterprise, and nobody can tell me a negative thing about them,” Brown said. “I feel like my girls are an average-type team. We don”t have a lot of power. But I just feel like it”s gonna be a close game and will come down to who wants it more. We”re the underdogs, but that”s fine with us.”
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