Two good: South Mississippi goes 2-for-2 in state softball finals
Revenge tour complete.
George County outlasted Neshoba Central, 10-7, in a shootout Game 3 of the 6A state championship to capture the Lady Rebels’ second title in three years.
Addison Davis took the circle in relief and pitched the game’s first scoreless frame in the fifth inning. George County poured in three runs in the bottom half to break the game open and never looked back.
“I’m so proud of them,” said first-year head coach Anna Grace Cooley. “I don’t even have the words. The fight, the fight, the fight and just continuing to fight no matter what. I’m so proud of them.”
The banner puts a cap on a run of vengeance that was seeded by bitter taste of disappointment Hancock delivered in last year’s South State championship series. George County burned through its schedule, swept the Hawks in both the regular season and the South State rematch and entered the final series with 30 wins.
“I knew these girls had it in them,” Cooley said. “We missed out last year in South State and just getting back here was the goal. Once we got here, the goal became bigger.”
Davis was a key reason why the Lady Rebels won it two seasons ago when she pitched in Game 2. Davis threw 4.2 innings Saturday, putting up the stop sign on an offense that scratched just two runs across on her after scoring five over the first eight outs.
She earned her 13th win of the season in the process and by far the biggest.
“Addison literally walks around saying ‘I’m a dog, I’m a dog, I’m a dog,’” Cooley said. “We just lean into it. Before she went out in that seventh inning I told her ‘hey, you’re a dog. Let’s go get ‘em.’ She truly believes that.”
Blakely Slay was honored as MVP as the series after turning in two hits and two RBIs in Game 3. Slay had five hits and drove in five runs over three games.
East Central back on top
There’s a rally, and then there’s a swarm.
East Central sent 11 batters to the plate during a six-run fourth inning that propelled the Hornets to a 10-6 win over Lafayette and a two-game sweep that secured the 5A state championship.
Abigail Danis launched a no-doubt, two-run home run to left field in the midst of the fourth-inning rally, effectively breaking open what had been a back-and-forth affair at the Southern Miss Softball Complex.
“There weren’t many people outside of our locker room who thought we even had a chance of coming back here,” East Central coach Gerald Edmonson said. “Sometimes you might not have as much talent, but the girls’ grit and their coming together this year was amazing to see.”
The Hornets are champions for the first time since 2009 after breaking through a barrier they had run into every season of fifth-year coach Edmonson’s tenure. East Central has reached the Final Four every year since 2021 and played in the championship series three times in that stretch, but on each occasion was felled by a North State power.
Danis and Co. put an end to the drought in Hurley and the once-dominant, six-time state champion can safely say it’s back with banner number seven finally in hand.
“We’ve been here four out of the past five years,” Edmonson said. “We’ve been really close over the last five years and to finally get over that hump, it’s unbelievable. We’ve got so many daggum silver necklaces and we were finally able to get over that hump.”
Danis was called upon just moments after her home run to stymie a Lafayette offense that had scored five runs in four innings. She went to work delivering three innings of one-run ball. Danis’ two-hit, four-RBI day plus her work in the circle earned her series MVP.
“It couldn’t have happened to a better individual,” Edmonson said. “There’s not a single soul on this team that wouldn’t do anything for (Danis). She has been phenomenal all year. She just goes up there and shoves and hits the ball hard.”
Danis is the team’s No. 2 starter behind Breyona Tanner. The latter started the game but had trouble finding the usual spin on her stuff. It wasn’t a coach’s idea to make a change while holding a 9-5 lead through four innings.
According to Edmonson, Tanner knew Danis would shut down the Commodore offense and suggested she replace her in the center of the diamond.
“We have three amazing pitchers on this team,” Danis said. “We always have each other’s back.”
East Central got two hits apiece from Tanner and Valerie Merrill and saw all 10 batters who stepped up to the plate reach base safely. Chloe Sheppard scored three times out of the leadoff spot and made the game-winning putout in center field.
Danis credits those around her for instilling the confidence needed to meet the moment.
“You just have to stay confident the whole time,” Danis said. “You have to know you can do it, you have to believe in yourself and you have to know that your defense is behind you.”
The Hornets graduate three key seniors in Tanner, Sheppard and Kailee Lawson, but Danis and many others will enter the offseason with a welcome target and on the hunt for another banner.
This story was originally published May 14, 2025 at 7:49 PM.
