Alcovy softball did not want to relinquish ownership of its Region 3-AAAAAA crown from 2022. So, this year they put together its second straight region title season. 

As far as the players are concerned, the Lady Tigers do not plan on going anywhere anytime soon either. 

“We want to make a name for Alcovy,” Kaitlyn said. “We don’t want to be made fun of or whatever types of names they have for Alcovy. We want to show them that, no matter what’s going on, this softball team is here to stay. We’re building this up so we can continue to make it as state champions.” 

Fellow juniors Kaylie McDonald and CeCe Williams shared Kaitlyn’s confidence. In fact, McDonald doubled down on her teammate’s statement. 

“A lot of people last year thought we just got lucky and had a lucky season,” McDonald said. “Now, we showed that it wasn’t luck and we actually have a good thing going and we’re going to keep it going.” 

Alcovy’s back-to-back region titles is the first time since the 2014 and 2015 seasons when the Lady Tigers have accomplished this.

In this go round, the Lady Tigers have dominated the Region 3-AAAAAA competition. 

Over the last two seasons, Alcovy has an unblemished 30-0 record in region play with its last region loss coming on Sept. 29, 2021. Fourteen of those region victories were this season. 

In those games, the Lady Tigers won by an average of 18-2 along with seven shutout victories. 

Just like last season, the two biggest wins both came against the Woodward Academy Lady War Eagles.

CeCe shared the significance of sweeping Woodward Academy over the last two seasons. 

“I feel like that is one of our biggest rivalries. Usually, people would say Newton and Eastside are our biggest rivalries, but I feel like Woodward is,” CeCe said. “I was so excited. It felt great to have five wins in a row.” 

The Lady Tigers’ latest region title quest was a team effort. 

Eight players batted .350 and above this season along with six players connecting on at least one homer. 

Kaitlyn leads all Lady Tigers with a .484 batting average along with 27 RBIs and tied for first in home runs with four. Senior Makinzie Johnson has four homers, too. 

McDonald registers a .385 batting average and has 12 RBIs this season. 

Meanwhile, CeCe contributed to Alcovy’s success in the pitcher’s circle as well as at the plate. She has a .444 average and 19 RBIs as well as 6.07 ERA and 35 strikeouts. 

Olivia Tomberlain assisted with her pitching performance, recording a 4.73 ERA and 50 strikeouts. 

Alcovy wreaked havoc on the base paths as well. 

Ashlyn Hoy led the team with 24 stolen bases followed by Jamaya Anderson’s 18, CeCe’s 16 and Kaitlyn’s 13. 

McDonald and Alani Munoz each recorded nine. 

One thing each of Alcovy’s 14 players seemingly possesses, though, is positive energy. Across the season, players could be seen laughing and joking no matter the circumstance. 

CeCe believes that is evidence of the players’ bond on and off the field. 

“A lot of people can get down very easily and, when you get down, nothing goes right. Everybody as a team comes together as a family and that’s when that sister's bond comes in,” CeCe said. “We all just build each other. That’s just us. That’s our sisterhood.” 

There have been a lot of similarities between the two region championship seasons. But one major difference stands out — the non-region schedule. 

Head coach Miranda Lamb beefed that part of the schedule to help prepare her team come postseason time. 

So far in the 13 out-of-region contests, the Lady Tigers have gone 3-10. Five of the 10 losses, though, were by three runs or fewer. 

No matter the result, Kaitlyn believes she and her teammates have benefitted from those outings. 

“Even though it might’ve not looked like we did so hot, we were able to pick ourselves back up to build for games like this and for the playoffs,” Kaitlyn said. “We were able to, not only get better individually, but get better as a team. We are going to see those tougher teams in the playoffs.” 

Two more non-region games remain on Alcovy’s schedule. It hosts George Walton Academy and Grovetown on Oct. 2 and 3, respectively. 

Following the conclusion of the regular season, the Lady Tigers will be hosting Super Regionals for the second straight season. It is also the third straight year that Alcovy qualified for the postseason, which is the first three-year stretch since 2013-2015. 

Alcovy’s motivation for 2023 berthed at the end of the 2022 season. 

When the Lady Tigers hosted Super Regionals last year, they swept Riverwood, but came up short both times against Effingham County. 

Watching the Lady Rebels celebrate their advancement to Columbus on their home field has stuck in the Lady Tigers’ mind from that moment on. 

“We said right after we lost out, ‘Remember that,’ McDonald said. “And nobody’s going to forget that feeling of how we lost and nobody wants that to happen again.” 

The Super Regionals will soon commence once again at Alcovy High School. And the players plan to pull out all the stops to not experience last year’s feeling again. 

“I’m competitive. So, I remember that. I really don’t like to lose,” Kaitlyn said. “Anything and everything we have to do to pull out this win, I am willing to do it. I’m sure every single person is willing to do it.”