Under the bright lights of The Swamp on Mother’s Day, the West Marion Lady Trojans softball team became the first major sports team in school history to reach a state championship after sweeping Clarkdale to claim the South State title.
The only state championship in school history belongs to the archery program, while no football, baseball, basketball, volleyball or softball team had ever reached the state championship until now.
The Lady Trojans (28-6) will take on the two-time defending state champs Booneville Lady Blue Devils (26-9) for the Class 3A State Championship starting Tuesday at Southern Miss. Game 1 of the series will begin following the conclusion of the Class 2A game, which will likely be between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
West Marion traveled to Clarkdale Saturday afternoon and braved a pitchers’ duel to come out on top 3-2. Then, with a trip to state on the line Sunday night, the Lady Trojans jumped out to a 7-0 lead in Game 2, withstood a five-run fifth inning by Clarkdale and held on to win 8-5.
Lady Trojans head coach Cory Odom said after the game that the reality of it hadn’t set in quite yet but that he is extremely proud to be a part of making history with his team.
“It’s extremely emotional. To make history and do something like that with these girls and what they’ve battled through and with my daughter and my family, I’m at a loss for words,” he said. “I’m just ecstatic. I’m just so blessed and thankful.”
Lady Trojans head coach Cory Odom dances in celebration.
“I’m still kind of just shocked,” senior Olivia Miller said while hugging friends and family amidst the celebration. “We’ve never been so I don’t really know how to react right now. It’s pretty exciting though.”
Miller added it’s a relief that all the work the Lady Trojans have put in and the adversity they’ve faced is finally paying off, but her eyes remain on the prize.
“We’re not done yet. We still have to go to state and win it,” she said.
While being interviewed by the C-P, Odom was embraced by former Lady Trojans head coach Mike McMullin, who passed the torch to Odom when he retired two years ago. Odom couldn’t help but get emotional as McMullin shared in the excitement and told Odom how proud of him he was for finishing the job they started together.
“Is this real, coach?” Odom asked McMullin as he choked up and they hugged.
West Marion head coach Cory Odom celebrates with former Lady Trojans coach Mike McMullin.
McMullin said Monday morning that he pushed for Odom, who had been an assistant for several years, to get the job as he was retiring because he knew Odom was the right person for the job. There was so much change going on at the school at the time that he believed it was best for the Lady Trojans to have some consistency.
The former coach added that he knew all the pieces were going to be there for West Marion to be competitive at the highest level, but he said the biggest thing was the development of Miller and fellow senior Paris Thompson becoming the leaders the Lady Trojans needed.
“They started to become leaders that last year I was there, and I think they’ve become great leaders,” McMullin said. “Liv is a lot like Josh (Miller) — she’s not going to talk a lot — but she can carry a team just like Josh carried us in football. Her and Paris just became really good leaders, and I’m really proud about that because that’s not in their nature. Then all of the girls just got better. I thought they could make a run and have a chance, and I’m just so, so happy for them and all they’ve accomplished this year.”
West Marion High School Principal Ryan Stringer has some experience with state championships himself as he was an assistant coach for the Columbia Wildcats baseball team when they won state in 2011. He said postgame that a lot of the thoughts he had then are the same ones he has now.
“Tonight is the night that it happened, but it’s a long process,” he said. “The core of this team, which is the two seniors, has been doing it since they were seventh graders. They just kept building and building and building until eventually they have gotten to this point.”
Stringer said he wasn’t quite as nervous watching the Lady Trojans as a principal as he was when he was calling pitches for the Wildcats, but the pride is very much the same.
“It’s an awesome accomplishment for the girls, and I’m super proud of them. They put in a lot of time, effort and hard work, and the coaches have done a fantastic job,” Stringer said. 
While the Lady Trojans pulled off a sweep of Clarkdale, the series was not without its tough times and tense moments.
In Game 1, they got off to a great start as Gracie Odom lined an RBI single, Thompson ripped an RBI double and Bailee Santangelo roped a run-scoring single as the Lady Trojans took a 3-0 first-inning lead. But then Clarkdale pitcher Ava Mosley settled in and didn’t allow another hit all game as she struck out 10 West Marion batters.
The Lady Bulldogs offense answered in the third inning, scoring a pair of runs to cut it to 3-2. In the bottom of the sixth, Clarkdale was threatening again when West Marion left fielder McKenzie Stringer made a diving catch to preserve the lead. Then in the bottom of the seventh, Clarkdale had runners on first and third with no outs, but West Marion pitcher Izzy Pittman settled down to get three straight outs to preserve the win.
Lady Trojans freshman pitcher Izzy Pittman delivered a gem in Game 1 Saturday.
West Marion got off to another fantastic start in Game 2 with five first-inning runs. Gracie Odom got the rally going with a two-run double then McKenna Powell drove in two runs with a single to right field before Pittman plated the final run with a line-drive single to center field. The Lady Trojans were feeling no nerves after the fourth inning as Gracie Odom crushed her second two-run double of the game to extend West Marion’s lead to 7-0.
But that’s when everything changed. In the top of the fifth, the Lady Bulldogs finally figured Pittman out and came back with a pair of seeing-eye, two-run singles and an RBI double to cut the lead down to 7-5. While the Lady Trojans never lost their composure, the tension in the dugout had unquestionably risen. However, Miller then entered the circle to replace Pittman, and she got the final out of the inning to end the threat.
With the Lady Trojans clinging to their 7-5 lead in the bottom of the sixth, the coaching staff wanted to find any way possible to scratch across at least one insurance run to give them some breathing room. Bunts, sacrifices and steals were all on the table, but it turned out they just needed one swing from the best power hitter in the state. Miller stepped up to the plate, turned on an inside pitch and launched it over the left-field fence for her Mississippi-leading 14th home run of the season, gifting herself a three-run cushion going into the seventh inning.
Mississippi's home run leader, Lady Trojans senior Olivia Miller, rounds third base after launching her 14th of the season.
Clarkdale led off the inning with a hard-hit single up the middle, immediately raising the blood pressure of the West Marion faithful, but Miller then induced three straight groundouts to win the program’s first South State title.
“If I could say one thing about these girls, it’s that they never quit,” Odom said following the game. “(Saturday) we played a tough 3-2 ball game. The heat was insane and we didn’t hit the best, but we battled. The defense has been solid all year, and our defense got us through that. I knew that if we hit the ball (in Game 2), we had a great chance after pulling that game off when we didn’t hit. I came into this game (Sunday) with a lot of confidence, and when the bats came alive, I knew. I just had that feeling.
“I’m just so proud of their resilience. Last year when we would get in moments where we would lose a lead, we just shut down. Tonight when they (cut it to) 7-5, we would normally crumble. But they just kept their heads up. That’s how you move forward, when a team comes together like that. It’s a great thing to see.”
The West Marion Lady Trojans are heading to their first-ever state title series.
Miller had been West Marion’s No. 1 pitcher since she was in the seventh grade. But this season, with the emergence of Pittman in the circle, she has been the No. 2 pitcher because of what she brings defensively at shortstop is so valuable. But when the Lady Trojans needed her most in the circle, she was ready and answered the call.
Odom said Miller’s ability to manage her emotions and be a silent leader through always being the example on the field is an amazing thing to witness.
West Marion's Olivia Miller came into pitch when her team needed her most and delivered 2 1/3 shutout innings.
“Izzy was gassed. She gave us everything she could (Saturday) in the heat, and tonight we knew it was the right time (to put in Miller). We never had a doubt that Liv was mature enough to be able to handle that. She came in and did a great job in a big moment,” the second-year head coach explained.
Miller admitted that while she was pitching, it was hard to block out what was at stake, but she did her best to take it one pitch at a time and stay calm and focused.
Gracie Odom’s 4 RBI performance had coach Odom emotional after the game as he tried his best to keep it about softball.
Lady Trojans freshman Gracie Odom delivers the first of a pair of two-run doubles.
“That’s my baby girl. To get to go to state with your daughter, you just don’t see that. I’m thankful for that,” he said as he choked up. “Any coach that coaches their daughter knows there’s extra pressure on the coach’s kid, and I’m just so proud of her. I’m cherishing every moment of this.”
