CALEDONIA — Kevin Stewart is back in a familiar place.
In eight years as an assistant coach with the Caledonia High School girls fast-pitch softball team, Stewart has played an integral role in the push to the third round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 4A playoffs.
After taking last season off, Stewart has led the Lady Confederates back to the same spot. Caledonia has had to overcome plenty of one-run losses and lineup shuffles along the way, but Stewart always believed his team had the talent and potential to get back to the third round.
Caledonia (16-13) accomplished that goal Thursday with a 7-0 victory against Cleveland that helped it clinch the best-of-three second-round playoff series. The pay-off is another matchup against Region 4 rival West Lauderdale. That series will begin at 6 p.m. Monday in Caledonia. The winner will take on the winner of the series between Houston and Kosciusko for a shot at the Class 4A North State title.
“When I took the job, I didn’t see any reason that we weren’t back in the same exact place we finished last year,” Stewart said. “I would have felt like I didn’t do my job (if we didn’t get back to the third round). … I felt from day one that we were destined to make it back to the third round, and that’s when the hard work starts.”
Caledonia defeated Tishomingo County 12-1 and 12-4 in the first round. It beat Cleveland 11-0 in Game 1 of that series. The formula has been the same, too. The Lady Confederates have used solid defense (two errors in the last four games) and stingy pitching from freshman Carlee Dale and seventh-grader Ashlyn Jordan.
Stewart said he believes the team’s outfield of Landri Brown, Hope Harbin, and Riley Huckaby is one of the best in Class 4A North. He also credits Maddi Suggs and CC Devos for stepping in at catcher following the graduation of Cassie Obman, who is having a standout freshman season at East Central Community College in Decatur.
Stewart said the familiarity he has with the players in the program made his transition back to coaching easier. In fact, Stewart has coached some of the players so long they don’t immediately remember him being their coach. Stewart said he recently talked to Harbin and he asked her if she recalled the names of her coaches when she played in the third or fourth grades. He said it dawned on Harbin after a few minutes that he, too, was one of the coaches that used to practice on the band field.
“There is a comfort level there,” Stewart said. “What they need is stability. This team has done well. Coach (Robin) Elmore got to the third round the last year she coached. Coach (Jonathan) Jones got to the third round last year. We’re in the third round again this year facing the same team as we did last year. You wonder if there is a little more stability if that is what it is going to take to take the next step forward.”
Stewart said playing a challenging schedule with non-region games against perennial powers like Hamilton, Smithville, East Webster, and New Hope as well as games against Region 4 rivals West Lauderdale and Kosciusko primed the team for the postseason. He said there initially was frustration following the first few one-run losses, but he said the players didn’t let that disappointment affect their focus.
Stewart said he also continued to mix and match lineups. He said four girls have played first base and four have played third base. Stewart said team seemed to find the right combination late in the regular season in a tournament at New Hope that also featured South Pontotoc.
“There was one game in there where it just looked like that when we walked out on the field that we had nine girls in certain positions and we looked like we owned the field and we were comfortable,” Stewart said of a loss to New Hope. “A couple of the girls came up to me after and said, ‘I really liked that. I felt really good where I was and really good with who was around me.’ ”
Senior shortstop Gracie McCleskey, who signed in November to play softball at Jones County Junior College, said the Lady Confederates needed time to build confidence at the beginning of the season. Since then, though, she said things have come together and the team is playing some of its best ball of the season. She said the mix of older and younger players hasn’t been a distraction and has made the team stronger, especially in the circle.
“They both have done really good,” said McCleskey, who has played since she was in the seventh grade. “Carlee has done good ever since she started playing. She had to play when she was in the seventh grade. Coming in as a seventh-grader isn’t easy, but she and AJ have done really well.”
Dale said her focus has improved from last season and that she takes the region games a little more seriously. Like McCleskey, she is looking forward to another chance at West Lauderdale. Both players hope they can turn the two one-run losses in their favor.
“I am pretty excited,” Dale said. “I think we can beat them. I know we can beat them.
“They can hot pretty well, and their pitching is pretty good. We just need to hit the ball better and focus more.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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