MONTICELLO, Ga. – As the weather changes, trading in steamy summers for the cool, crisp air of fall, the Piedmont Academy softball team has been consistently red hot.
Region play is heralded as the most important part of the season where you want to play well, not only to earn yourself a bid in the playoffs, but to ride a wave of momentum into the most prestigious of Georgia Independent School Association high school tournaments.
Piedmont has not only played well, but it has absolutely dominated their region schedule, tallying four wins and no losses (13-1 overall) this season while obliterating their opponents by a combined score of 45-0 to cement its status as Region 1-AA Champs for the thirdyear in a row.
The Lady Cougars were the definite favorites going into the final stretch of games against their region foes, according to head coach, Colt Spivey. However, he wasn’t so sure that his team was going to completely devour opponents in the fashion it did.
“We have two great pitchers and a lot of team speed,” said Spivey when asked about what really clicked for his team over the course of the season, and primarily through the four region contests which included two games each against Flint River Academy and LaGrange Academy.
The Lady Cougars jumped on teams early throughout the course of the season, averaging 3.4 runs per game in the first inning alone.
A quick start to games, along with stellar defense and exceptional pitching by a pair of juniors in Neely Bradford and Maddie Morton led to games that were often out of reach before the other team could even catch its breath.
Consistency is the name of the game for Piedmont as it looks forward to the GISA state tournament.
“Our preparation is the same as far as what we do,” said Spivey, and rightfully so. If it’s not broken then why fix it?
Spivey said his bunch will continue to lean on their excellent pitching, defense and whirling team speed down the stretch of the season.
“We’re going to try to get 21 clean outs, try to put as much pressure on other teams and be as disciplined as we can,” said Spivey.
The success of the Lady Cougars during the regular season has earned the squad a first-round bye in the GISA state tournament which sets them up to take the field on Oct. 14, kicking off second round play at home against a yet-to-be-determined opponent to be determined.
Although they currently have it set in their minds that better competition is on the horizon for them, the Lady Cougars and Spivey still want to taste the same results of success on a larger scale.
Spivey has supreme confidence in his team’s ability to compete at high levels of pressure-packed competition and come out victorious on the other side.
Just like the Lady Cougars have a current streak of three region championships in a row, they are looking to start another streak in state championships.
“We’re gonna do our thing,” said Spivey.
