MACON — Sammy Lindsey believes it can happen.
One year after falling short of its goal to play for a state title, Lindsey feels the Central Academy fast-pitch softball team is positioned for a run at a championship.
A strong returning class adds to Lindsey’s optimism. The fact that the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools added a fourth classification — AAAA — in the offseason in an effort to create a more level playing field based on school enrollment numbers has created a path Lindsey feels his team will be able to navigate, even though it has only one senior, Courtney Gaylord.
“We didn’t finish like we had planned on it being,” Lindsey said. “Hopefully this season it is going to be a lot different.”
Gaylord, the team’s No. 1 pitcher, and junior Kelsey Robbins, one of the team’s “Fab Four” of juniors, agree with Lindsey. Gaylord said the team came close last year and ended up having a “pretty bad day” at the North State tournament. She said no one could hit the ball and no one was making good plays. But Robbins said all of the hard work the team plans to put in this year will help it realize its goals of winning a state title.
“I think we’re going to play off last year and try to go farther this year because last year really made us mad when we didn’t make it to where we wanted to be,” Gaylord said. “I think we are going to go off last year and have that make us play harder this year.”
Robbins said the “Fab Four”, which also includes Sadie Lindsey, Savanah Stapleton, and Allie Beth Rigdon, earned that nickname from Lee Sciple, a former Central Academy student who died in April from injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident. The players said they planned to wear a No. 4 on their helmets and, possibly, jerseys to honor Sciple’s memory. The No. 4 was the number Sciple wore when he played sports.
Central Academy and Hebron Christian will compete in Class A, District 2 following the re-classification. Calvary Christian, Kemper Academy, and Calhoun Academy also will be in District 2. Twenty-one teams, in four districts, will compete for the Class A title. Lindsey said schools like Benton Academy, Carroll Academy, Marshall Academy, Heidelberg Academy, and Sylva Bay Academy are now in Class AA. For a school that likely will have less than 100 students, Lindsey said the re-classification puts Central Academy on a more equal playing field with schools of similar sizes.
Still, Central Academy has remained competitive against larger schools. It routinely plays Class AAA schools like Heritage Academy and Starkville Academy as well as Class AA schools like Oak Hill Academy and has had success. Lindsey said Central Academy will have to make sure it has one of its better days at the right time. Last season, the team played one of its worst games against Greenville Christian in its first game in the Class A North State tournament, regrouped to beat Benton Academy, and then lost to Delta Academy.
Lindsey said he has talked to his players about the end of the 2014 season. He said he hopes the losses linger in the minds of his players because he believes the pieces are in place for the Lady Vikings to make a run at a championship.
“I think it is there for them barring no injuries,” Lindsey said. “We have a lot of good talent.”
Lindsey expects Gaylord will get a lot of help in the circle from Rigdon and Sadie Lindsey. Coach Lindsey said Rigdon has increased her velocity 7-8 mph from last season. He said Stapleton and Sadie Lindsey will split time at catcher and shortstop. Gaylor or Rigdon (first base), Coley Disbrow (second base), and Robbins (third base) likely will see time in the infield, while Ashly Brown, Peyton Dawkins, and Layla Franks will see playing time in the outfield.
Central Academy (14-5 last season) lost only one player — catcher Kayla Brown — to graduation last school year. Lindsey said the varsity team also could receive contributions from middle schoolers. At a school the size of Central Academy, the program has benefited from younger players getting a lot of playing time at the varsity level at an early age.
Gaylord feels the team has enough pitching to make it through the hottest part of the season. She said she is ready to handle the role of primary pitcher. She also believes Rigdon will be able to take on a bigger role because she has improved from last season.
Gaylord and Robbins agreed that the mental part of the game will help determine if the team will be able to play for a state title. They said in past seasons one mistake has led to a second and a third, so everyone has to focus on putting a bad play behind them and not allowing it to affect the next one.
If that happens, Gaylord and Robbins said they believe Lindsey is right and Central Academy will be able to be in the title discussion.
“I don’t know if you have ever watched one of our games, but if you see one of us get down, all of us just go stupid and don’t know how to play,” Gaylord said. “We’re doing better, but we still have to cheer each other up. We’re doing better, but we still have to keep each other going. That is one of main things, not to let anybody get down on themselves.”
Robby Robbins and Cynthia Dawkins, will assist Lindsey, while Angie Rigdon will be scorekeeper.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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