In what was a long day of softball, the Eastside Lady Eagles put it all together to claim the Class AAAA Championship.

Three improbable wins back-to-back-to-back against a pair of tough teams was the task, the  Lady Eagles completed it emphatically.

It was a long journey for Eastside, but it could not have happened without its senior class.

Donee Morain, Cadence McCullough, Savanna Griffin, Avery Jewell, Allie Vaughn, Eva Davis and Kylee Lawrence — all seven started and left their mark as they finished their Lady Eagles’ career at the pinnacle.

The 2026 senior class made it to Columbus all four years as Lady Eagles, and a few of them took the time to share how it felt after they won the trophy on Saturday.

“It feels great, this is the best group I know,” Morain said. “This will be one for the books. With this senior class, we had to end on a high note and we couldn’t take no for an answer. Second place, we weren’t worried about that. We wanted to be No. 1.”

A second place finish in 2024 fueled this year’s run, according to Davis,

“We have been doing this since freshman year, some of us since our eighth grade year,” Davis said. “We knew we wanted to leave a legacy. We made it to Columbus all four years and last year we fell short. We knew that this year we were going to win it all. We have such an amazing team. I feel like this team can compete with anybody and I knew that our title was ours from the moment we stepped on the field together.”

A loss to the Kell Longhorns on Friday meant Eastside had to run the table and win three straight all on Saturday.

The odds were stacked high, but the team’s belief was higher.

“We just had to trust each other. Go pitch by pitch and just play our hearts out and leave everything on the field,” Lawrence said. “Trust each other, know that we are never down, no matter the score or the game.”

Outside of the opening game against Union Grove on Thursday, Lawrence and Davis pitched every inning for the Lady Eagles the rest of the way.

Both pitchers shined at different moments throughout the week.

Lawrence’s complete game against Harris County saw the senior go seven full innings of one-run ball while she struck out nine.

The Memphis commit relieved Davis against Kell on Thursday and struck out 11 Lady Longhorn batters through 5.1 innings.

In the 10-inning affair with Harris County on Saturday, Davis relieved Lawrence and pitched the final five innings and only allowed one run — a performance that ultimately allowed the Lady Eagles to come back and win.

When it came time to face Kell again, Lawrence threw another complete game. This time, she allowed only one earned run and struck out 10 batters.

Davis returned to the mound for the championship game and pitched six innings. The Stetson-commit allowed six earned runs, but she also struck out seven batters and pitched around a tough Kell offense.

In need of the final three outs to secure the trophy, Lawrence came in to finish the job and secure Eastside’s first state title since 1999.

“We[myself and Davis] just balance each other out,” Lawrence said. “We push each other, encourage each other and let us know we are there for one another so we have someone.”

The two pitchers handled their business at the plate, too. Davis and Lawrence combined to 10-for-35 with seven RBIs, four runs scored and a pair of walks.

Offensively, the Lady Eagles were led in most categories by Morain, who went 9-for-20 with seven runs, seven RBIs and two walks in Columbus.

“[It was] preparation, effort and mentality” Morain said. “We were ready from day one. Preparation — we knew what we came here to do and didn't get distracted. We knew our purpose and what we came here to do.”

Perhaps the biggest swing of the week for Morain came in the final game of the season against Kell.

In the bottom of the third, Morain hit a bases-clearing double that scored three runs, a moment that became even more important when the Lady Eagles won 9-6.

“It was just me keeping it simple,” Morain said. “Thankfully our other players put it over the fence [earlier], but I know my job and I know my tools. A line drive could do the job, and that’s what I did.”

Another senior who posted strong results was Vaughn, who finished the Columbus trip with seven hits, seven RBIs and three runs scored.

“Everybody played such an important role, whether it was cheering in the dugout, pinch running or hitting. It was a whole team effort and that’s what I felt did it for us,” Vaughn said. 

After the team celebrated its championship win on the field, Heather Wood labeled her senior group as “gritty,” a sentiment that even the players themselves agree with.

“We are really gritty,” Lawrence said. “Very gritty. We have always wanted it. We lead everybody and we knew it was already ours — we just took it.”

The senior class performed well, but that did not stop many of the team's younger players from stepping up and showing out.

Outside of Morain, the second-best offensive output came from sophomore Ansley Hartman.

Hartman finished her week with a 8-for-20 line that saw her tally five RBIs and four runs.

Another was freshman Jayah Johnson, who picked up momentum as the games went on. The biggest swing for Johnson came in the championship game, when she followed Lawrence’s home run with one of her own to serve as the go-ahead run in the game that won them a state title.

“To be honest, it was the energy and the preparation,” Johnson said. “Sleep early and as soon as we woke up everybody wanted that ring. That was the only thing we have been thinking about since the start of it.

“It feels amazing with the seniors on my side and the parents and my family. It’s an amazing feeling.”

Outside of Hartman and Johnson, the Lady Eagles would not have been able to complete the run they did without the help of other underclassmen such as Kamryn Davis, Alyssa Hartman and Lily Stowe.

“It is so heartwarming to watch them learn and grow not just from us but from the juniors and learning from their peers,” Vaughn said. “Knowing that they are going to continue what we started and I am going to be so excited to watch them.”

For this year’s seniors, there is little doubt about the team’s ability to get right back to Columbus next year.

“When I was a freshman, the seniors were so happy to see me succeed and now as a senior I am so happy to see them succeed,” Davis said. “I know they are going to take this program to the next level, hopefully come back next year and win again.