CALEDONIA — Maddy Suggs knows to be prepared.
Ever since Suggs started playing softball, she always has played a variety of positions, from catcher to second base to third base. That’s why a few years ago she decided to buy a multi-purpose glove she could use in the infield to go along with her catcher’s mitt. She didn’t know for sure, but she had a feeling she would see action at several positions during her Caledonia High School fast-pitch career.
That planning is paying dividends for Suggs and Caledonia this season.
“Last year and the beginning of this year, I mainly caught,” Suggs said. “But I like moving around, and I have always been able to go from one position to another. I am comfortable at any position (Caledonia coach Kevin Stewart) puts me at.”
There’s no telling where Suggs will be on the field at 6 p.m. Friday when Caledonia plays host to Kosciusko in Game 1 of the best-of-three Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 4A North State title series.
Caledonia swept two games from Region 4 rival West Lauderdale earlier this week to advance to face Kosciusko, another Region 4 rival. Like West Lauderdale, Kosciusko beat Caledonia twice in the regular season. Since then, though, Caledonia has gone through a few shuffles in the field. The changes have been an on-going process for Stewart, who is in his first year as the head coach but was a longtime assistant coach to former head coach Robin Elmore. Stewart said Caledonia has used four players at first base, four players at third base, multiple catchers, and five pitchers in varsity action. The only constant has been an outfield of Riley Huckaby, Hope Harbin, and Landri Brown.
Stewart said Caledonia didn’t find the right positions for all of the players until a loss to New Hope late in the regular season. Following that loss, Stewart said several players told him they liked their positions and that they felt a comfort level in how the team played. That defensive alignment has played a key role in Caledonia’s ability to play nearly errorless softball in playoff series victories against Tishomingo County, Cleveland, and West Lauderdale. The latest series victory helped the Lady Confederates take the next step after advancing to the third round of the playoffs for three-consecutive seasons.
“The outfield has been a definite for three years,” Stewart said. “Gracie has been at shortstop. We have played a handful of different people at first base, at second base, at third base, and had a couple catching. CC went down with an injury, which forced Maddy to stay at catcher for a little while. AJ (Ashlyn Jordan) stayed at second and Lauren Duckworth stayed at third, but when we went to that New Hope game we moved Lauren and left CC behind the plate something clicked. We weren’t necessarily looking for anything different, but it just seemed like there was a comfort level there.
“Maddy even said afterward that she felt comfortable at third and she like that.”
Suggs said she is comfortable having the ball hit at her, which helps explain why she is so adept working behind the plate and then moving to the infield. She said she never played one position ever since she started playing the sport. Suggs also enjoys being known as a “utility player,” or a “jack of all trades.”
“It is fun to move around and to have the versatility to play other positions and not to be stuck at one,” Suggs said.
Suggs said having so many versatile players has allowed the Lady Confederates to come together because they can trust everyone at other positions, regardless of whether Carlee Dale or Jordan is pitching. She feels the same way when CC Devos is behind the plate.
Brown, a senior, who has been a fixture in the lineup for several years, said everyone has played their role to help push the team to a spot in the North State title series. She said it took time for the team to “find its groove,” but she said something “clicked” when Stewart found the right lineup. Once things clicked, the chemistry has provided an extra shot of confidence for all of the players.
“I think everybody found their happy place,” Brown said. “We have come closer together, especially since last year to this year. We can just have fun together. It is easier when you can have fun.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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