The softball season has drawn to a close with Latta’s Lady Vikings bringing home their first ever state softball championship.

After a few tough non-conference losses early in the season, the Lady Vikings went undefeated in Region 8-A and earned three shut out wins in the District VIII playoffs before falling 7-2 to East Clarendon in the first round of the lower state playoffs. The Lady Vikings bounced back, defeating local rival Lake View 7-2 and Hannah-Pamplico in elimination games to earn another shot at the Wolverines. Latta earned 4-2 and 4-3 wins to earn a ticket to the state series, where they shut out Dixie 6-0 in game one. After falling 4-3 in game two, the Vikings earned a 16-6 win over the Hornets in game three for their first ever state softball title in six state series appearances.

Much of the Vikings’ success can be attributed to senior pitcher Dori Webster, who earned 26 wins on the mound with an ERA of 1.05, striking out 115 in 116.1 innings pitched. Webster was also a strong presence at bat, picking up 31 RBI with more than 30 hits. She was selected Class A All-State and was also chosen for the North-South All-Star game.

Freshman Madison Owens was also a key player at bat, leading the Vikings with 55 hits and an average of .550 with 10 home runs, 11 triples, and eight doubles for 47 RBI. She was also an All-State selection.

Freshman Camryn Sawyer had 59 hits and an average of .504 with 12 doubles and 31 RBI. Kyra Grant, also a freshman, had 56 hits for a .500 average and 20 RBI, and Genesis Anderson had 35 hits for a .385 average.

Sophomore Macy Hyatt had 52 hits for the Vikings for an average of .456 including 22 doubles and 34 RBI, and eighth-grader Kaleigh Caulder had 44 hits for a .440 average with 26 RBI. Hyatt was also an All-State selection.

With just one senior and one junior on the championship team, the future looks strong for the Lady Vikings, which is good news for Head Coach Stephanie Ard. In just two seasons as head coach, Ard has helped the Vikings to two state title appearances and their first state championship.

Latta finished the season with a 31-7 record overall.

Meanwhile in Class A, Lake View’s Lady Gators finished as the Region 8-A runner up with a 6-2 record, falling twice to the Lady Vikings, 6-1 and 1-0. But the Lady Gators shut out Scott’s Branch 16-0 and earned 4-1 and 5-0 wins over Bamberg-Ehrhardt to claim the District V championship. Lake View ran afoul of the Hannah-Pamplico Raiders in the first round of the lower state bracket before falling 7-2 to Latta as the Vikings continued on towards the state crown.

Lake View was led at bat and on the mound by All-State selection Marissa Tyndall. Tyndall won 11 games on the mound with an ERA of 1.21, striking out 155 in 110 innings pitched. At bat, she had 38 hits for an average of .535 with six home runs, 15 doubles, and 22 RBI.

Senior Ashley Rogers had 41 hits for the Gators with an average of .477 which included three triples. Juniors Ally Spivey had 38 hits for a .447 average with three triples and 21 RBI, and Kayla Page had 26 his for an average of .382. Sophomore Logan Spivey added 32 hits for the Wild Gators for an average of .435.

With just one departing senior, Ashley Rogers, the Lady Gators should be a tough contender again next season with Tyndall, Spivey, and Page leading the way.

In Class 2A, the defending state champ Dillon Wildcats struggled a bit during the regular season, falling to rivals Waccamaw and Aynor to finish second in Region 8-2A with an 8-2 record. After earning three straight wins to claim the District V title, the Lady Wildcats were shut out by Andrews in the first round of the lower state and eliminated 3-2 by Johnsonville. Aynor went on to claim the Class 2A state title as the Wildcats finished with a 17-7 record.

On the mound for the Wildcats, senior Shaquailla German earned eight wins with an ERA of 1.38 and 120 strikeouts in 81.1 innings. German also led at bat with28 hits for a .458 average, seven home runs, and 34 RBI. German was a Class 2A All-State selection and has signed on to play with Claflin next season.

Also at bat, senior Tyieshah Jones had 24 hits for a .484 average; sophomore Brittany Miller had 23 hits for a .425 average with two home runs and three triples; sophomore Auh’Kieria Smiling had 20 hits for .421 average; senior Shar’Asia Samuel had three triples; and junior catcher Erin Bailey had two home runs this season.

The Wildcats should make another deep run next season, losing just three seniors while returning some of their top talent, including pitcher Tiffany Dwyer who had seven wins this season. The Lady Wildcats will also have a new coach as Kelvin Roller will be taking the place of Shirl Carter, who stepped down at the end of the season.

In SCISA action, Dillon Christian’s Lady Warriors finished the season with a 6-11 record overall.

The Warriors will some some of their best talent in departing seniors Jamie Carpenter, Madison King, Ansley Hamer, and Emilie Martin, but will return some of their strongest players from this season, including Samantha Carpenter, Sara Bass, and Madison Moody, and have some promising rising players such as Janie Altman and Shayla Hunt, who helped out late in the varsity season.

Congratulations to all our local teams on a great softball season!