East Central softball heading toward state championship rematch
Even the best have to fall, eventually.
That’s not the hope of East Central softball against Neshoba Central in the 5A state title series this week — it’s the mission. The Hornets are back in the state championships and are once again facing the Rockets, who won last year’s matchup.
Neshoba Central has built a softball dynasty out of Philadelphia, Miss., winning eight titles in a row.
“There’s no pressure on us because nobody expects us to win this series except for us,” East Central head coach Gerald Edmonson told the Sun Herald. “Everybody talks about how they’ve won eight in a row, but streaks come to an end, and why not us? Our girls are ready and they don’t have the mindset that they’re going to play these big giants. They just know that we can play and we’re going up there to win.”
Edmonson is in his first season as the Hornets’ head coach, picking up exactly where former coach Kyle Long left off.
East Central returned every key player from last year’s team and the experience is beginning to show on the field. The Hornets enter the series with a 23-7 record and have been spotless in the postseason.
Last season’s young team is still youthful, just more mature. A class of sophomores is leading the way at the plate with Bree Phillips anchoring the lineup.
“You want to talk about a kid that probably puts in at least 1,000 cuts a week?” Edmonson said. “She puts in tons and tons of work. Her work ethic is what makes her and that’s what makes everybody ... If you want to get better, you got to put time in on your own and she takes that to heart.”
Phillips leads the team with 47 hits and 34 RBIs, plus seven home runs and 16 doubles. Sophomores Kinsey Cochran, with her team-leading .471 batting average, and Baleigh Tullos with her 16 doubles are keeping the line moving for the Hornets.
East Central is also getting a big boost in the circle from freshman Breyona Tanner. She’s got a 1.90 ERA and has been charged with one loss. Tanner compliments the elder statesman of the team, senior ace Lauren Brooks, and the two provide a one-two punch that has carried the Hornets through the playoffs unscathed.
Each one of the team’s starters still has 2021’s final series on their minds and each is motivated for the rematch. Edmonson said the fundamentals are still the focus against the state’s top program.
“You got to pitch well, you got to make the routine plays behind it and you’ve got to come up with clutch hits when you have runners on base to get those runs in,” Edmonson said. “There’s no special formula. You got to pitch it, you go to field it and you got to hit it.”
Game 1 of the series will be played at the Southern Miss Softball Complex in Hattiesburg at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Game 2 will be at the same location at 7 p.m. If game three is needed, it will be played on Saturday.
