Cloudy early with peeks of sunshine expected late. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 91F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph..
Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 73F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.
Updated: August 26, 2021 @ 7:26 am
Tifton, Georgia
Gracee Wood is one of Tift County’s top pitchers, along with Paige Hill. Wood will play shortstop when Hill pitches and Hill will do the same when Wood is in the circle.
Paige Hill is the Lady Devils’ “bulldog,” according to head coach Taylor Barber. The returning Region 1-7A Player of the Year starts at pitcher and shortstop.
Bailee Williams is going to be more than just one of Tift’s big sticks in 2021. She is also playing first base.
Loralee Bennett is to play third and pitch this year.
Gracee Wood is one of Tift County’s top pitchers, along with Paige Hill. Wood will play shortstop when Hill pitches and Hill will do the same when Wood is in the circle.
Paige Hill is the Lady Devils’ “bulldog,” according to head coach Taylor Barber. The returning Region 1-7A Player of the Year starts at pitcher and shortstop.
Bailee Williams is going to be more than just one of Tift’s big sticks in 2021. She is also playing first base.
Loralee Bennett is to play third and pitch this year.
TIFTON — Taylor Barber enters his third year as head coach of the Tift County Lady Devils softball team and expectations are the highest yet.
“I like us a lot,” said Barber, who knows that, for the first time in years, the Lady Devils will be among the favorites to win Region 1-7A. The season is set to start Aug. 10 at home against Lee County after bad weather and postponements are knocking out the first first days of the schedule.
Barber said he is working to make up the trip that had been scheduled to Forsyth County.
Tift County was 14-18 in 2020 and advanced to state as the No. 3 squad from Region 1. Fourteen wins was double what they won in 2019 and the most since an 18-win campaign in 2015. More exciting about the new expectations are that they could top them for the next three years as the core of Tift’s group are sophomores.
Barber is pushing them further. The Lady Devils have gone through mottoes, such as “Grit” in 2020. This one is loftier, the elite eight of the Class 7A state tournament.
“The theme for this year, is ’Us’,” said Barber. “When you spell out ‘Columbus’, it ends with ‘us’.”
“They know that for us to achieve our goal of winning the region championship and for us to achieve that goal of getting to the elite eight, getting back to Columbus … They know that for us to achieve those goals, it ties in to ‘All In’ and it ties in to ‘Grit’ and ultimately it has to be done with everybody. That’s where the ’Us’ comes from. If they decide at any point in time they’re going to try and do it individually, then Columbus does have an ‘L’ in it. They’re fully aware of that, too.”
Fifteen players make up the varsity squad, a good mix of older and younger players, he said. Sophomores make up the bulk of the starters, but not all nine positions have been decided. Barber said his athletes have to prove, “Show me I can’t play without you.” He said the battles for starting jobs will continue into the season.
Giving second base as an example, Barber said Rebecca Salter, Lainie Jewell and Alicia Lee will all get an opportunity to earn the starting role.
Paige Hill, Madison Smith and Gracee Wood are the Lady Devils’ primary pitches, with Loralee Bennett getting innings. Hill was the Region 1 Player of the Year in 2020.
Around the diamond, Bailee Williams is at first base after primarily being a designated hitter. Hill or Wood is likely at shortstop when the other is pitching. Bennett is at third.
“She’s our bulldog,” said Barber of Hill. Wood, he said was one of the best players in the area as a freshman, as was Williams, whom he said attacked everything she did. He feels Bennett is the best defensive third baseman in the region.
“One of the most dangerous infields in the region,” he said.
Macy Hand will play in left. Smith is in center when she’s not pitching. Right field is another position that is undecided. Hand’s hitting ensured her stay in the lineup. Smith, he said, has the capability to be a five-tool player.
Angie Martinez will be behind the plate. “She’s been really impressive this summer,” he said. Barber said she had bonded well with the pitchers. “She means a lot to us behind the plate.” Lindsey Mainor can also catch.
Others competing for time are Abigail Henderson, Devyn Sand, Breanna Hernandez and Blake Chambless. Sand continues the Tift tradition of being a combination softball player and wrestler and recorded the first victory at the state wrestling tournament for a female in school history.
The lineup is loaded, but wins won’t necessarily fall in their laps. Barber has stacked the schedule with a bevy of tough teams, including Crisp County, Coffee, Lee and the region slate with Lowndes, Colquitt County and Camden County.
“We’re looking to punch somebody in the mouth or get punched in the mouth,” he said.
Lee County comes in Aug. 10 for the regular season home opener. They will be wanting to atone for Tift’s surprise sweep against them a season ago. Senior Night is Aug. 19 against Coffee.
Summer 2021 was far different from 2020, which split athletes and coaches into groups and had limitations on equipment use. This year, the Lady Devils have rarely had all the band together at the same time as players have been in camps all over America.
“It’s been a bit of a taste of what normal used to feel like,” said Barber, who is assuredly not taking anything for granted.
Besides Barber, Tift’s softball coaching staff consists of Xavier Holmes, Teresa Walker and Ivey Vickers.
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