Who said there is no joy in Mudville?
At least for the Catawba Ridge Copperheads softball team, Mudville best described their field as rain was a constant in their 9-1 state championship winning sweep of the St. James Sharks to clinch their third consecutive state title and first at the 5A level. The Copperheads finished with a 31-2 overall record in winning the 5A Division II state championship on May 29.
The last two seasons, the Copperheads dominated the 4A level winning back-to-back state titles. However, after last season, the team lost a ton of talent and moved up to the 5A level, so no one was sure what the season would hold.
“I knew the team was capable of it,” said Catawba Ridge senior Sarah Rocheleau. “We all weren’t expecting this. We were going to take it one game at a time, but this was always the goal. It feels great this year, because it wasn’t expected. This program has done so much for me. I am really grateful.”
Rocheleau powered Catawba Ridge in the win going 2-4 with five RBIs including a big grand slam in the sixth inning.
Rain started about the time the game did and was a constant for much of the contest. Catawba Ridge started strong despite the first batter for the Sharks reaching on an error. The Copperheads were able to get out of the inning as St. James started to play small ball in the first inning.
The bottom half of the inning was like the top half. BG Yates reached on an error and stole second, but Catawba Ridge couldn’t put together any offense to get her in.
In the bottom of the second, Kyrsten Reynolds drew a one out walk, but then got caught stealing second for the third out of the inning.
The Sharks led off the top of the third with a single, but Kendra Murray turned a 3-4 double play on a line drive to give the Copperheads a defensive boost.
Catawba Ridge broke through with three runs in the third inning. Charli Burney walked and Aloni Hogans drove her in on a single. After two outs, Rocheleau singled to drive in Hogans. Murray reached on an error as Rocheleau scored to make it 3-0.
In the bottom of the fourth, Burney walked and then stole second. She reached third on a throwing error, but the Copperheads left her stranded heading into the fifth inning.
The Sharks started the top of the fifth off by getting a batter hit by a pitch as the rain picked up. A sacrifice moved the runner to second and then she would score on a wild pitch to give St. James a run.
Catawba Ridge pitcher Keira O’Brien was able to rebound after the run scored and got a fly out and a strikeout with a runner on second to get out of the jam.
Catawba Ridge added some insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth. Mia Kovacs walked and Burney reached on an error. Hogans then singled them both in on a field that started to look like a bad Saturday at the Kentucky Derby with all the rain falling. Jaidyn Harris walked to put runners on the corners and Yates was hit in the middle of the back to load the bases. Rocheleau then hit a grand slam to put the Copperheads up 9-1.
O’Brien came back in the top of the seventh to shut down the Sharks giving the Copperheads a third consecutive state championship. O’Brien bounced back from a difficult game on Monday, May 26 only to pitch a complete game three hitter allowing one run and walking one while striking out four. O’Brien was like a machine all season in the circle despite being just a freshman.
“I knew my team had me on offense so that made my job a lot easier,” she said. “I had big shoes to fill. Chole Burger ended so well and I worked so hard because I wanted to help this team win. I grew a lot mentally and physically this season. The team helped me stay locked in.”
First year head coach Mike Mayak, who was an assistant on last year’s state title team, said O’Brien continually stepped up all season.
“We knew we had a ton of talent on this team and our big question mark was pitching and Keira O’Brien more than answered the bell on that,” he said. “She has been dominant.”
Murray was one of the seniors that stepped up this season in leading the team and guiding the younger players. This state title means a lot to her, she said.
“Being a senior, it’s the best thing in the world,” Murray said. “It gets better each year. Our main goal was to win region. We didn’t expect to be here. We had to work a lot with losing strong players and coaches from last year. We knew we had to come in and work really hard. We had to practice a little bit harder each and every day.”
Junior catcher Mia Kovacs still has her senior year to play, but all she has known for the past three seasons is winning.
“God is good,” she said. “We all came together and played together, one pitch at a time. We just stayed within ourselves all season. We are a big family. We love each other. We are all sisters.”
Mayak said this championship feels like one for the entire town of Fort Mill.
“It has been a crazy ride this first year,” he said. “To me, yeah, it’s a Catawba Ridge championship, but to me it’s a community one. When you look around and see the fire department here and we have girls from Nafo here, you got Michael (Kidd), Billy (Hinson), and Blue (Baker) chipping in to lay down Turface. All the fans and support we got this year. I love this community.”
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
