The head softball coaches from all four local high schools gathered this week to provide a recap of last year’s season, along with a preview of their teams’ expectations, goals and projected challenges for the approaching 2021 season.
Columbia Rotary Club members enjoyed the unique opportunity of having all four coaches unite at one location and deliver the club’s weekly program on Tuesday.
Columbia Academy’s Kyle Wilks, East Marion’s Jeremy Allen, Columbia High’s Greg Arnold and West Marion’s Mike “Mac” McMullin gave some background data on their respective teams, including how they ended last year’s season and how they anticipate performing this year.
Of the four local high schools, only CA has its season during the fall. CHS, along with EM and WM, all hold their seasons during the spring.
Wilks, who just completed his second year at CA, said he inherited a team in the fall of 2019 that had a prior record of winning only four games. They ended the 2019 season with a less than impressive record of 14-21. However, last year during 2020, which Wilks considers his first actual “full year,” the Cougars managed to finish the regular season with a much-improved record of 18-15.
That was enough, Wilks said, to earn them the spot as fourth seed in their district and qualified them to compete in the South State Tournament. Instead of a typical series format, Wilks said this tournament was more of a double-elimination (Saturday-Monday) type of competition.
After losing the first game, the Cougars came back and won the next three games of the contest, which earned them a spot to play in the State Championship. According to Wilks, that was an achievement that CA hasn’t accomplished in “a long, long time,” and they were very proud and excited.
The Cougars had a similar performance in the State Championship. After losing the first two games, they came back and won the second two, which placed them as fourth overall in Class 3A.
Since CA plays in the fall season, Wilks said they generally try to begin initial training around early May, with their season opener on the last Friday of July. However, last year presented considerable challenges due to the restrictions brought on by the Covid pandemic. That caused delays and limited their ability to practice as much as they wanted to.
Wilks said he’s very proud of his team, including four players who made first team all-district and two who are going on to play fast-pitch at the junior college level. He said softball is a great sport, with less risk of injury due to the physical motion required for fast-pitch softball. Unlike baseball, he said there is no eminent physical harm done to a pitcher’s arm or body.
Wilks said next season is likely to be even more difficult, since CA is being revised from 3A to 4A. He said, like with most other sports, softball is going to be much tougher competition in the higher-ranked size category of 4A.
CHS Coach Greg Arnold, now in his 10th year with the Lady Wildcats, said his team is also going from a class 3A to 4A next season. Since their season is played in the spring, Arnold said he’s getting his players ready to crank-up as their official season begins next week, with a jamboree scheduled for Feb. 13.
Arnold said the Covid pandemic also had a major impact on his team last year, ending the 10-game season with a record of 6-3-1. Arnold said, ironically, the tied-game happened right on the very day when the mandatory Covid restrictions were implemented.
During that particular game, he said both teams agreed to be locked-in at seven innings. As luck would have it, the game ended in a last-minute 3-3 tied score and they simply had to settle for it.
Arnold, who is also a local pastor, said his team included four senior players last year, one of which went on to play college ball. He said he’s very encouraged with the support of the local community when it comes to all sports, including softball.
“Support is critical for all the local sports programs,” Arnold said. “Without it, we couldn’t keep functioning like we do, and our kids really need and deserve it.”
According to Arnold, CHS is considering several possible improvements to their softball facilities, including upgrades to their scoreboard and second-tier on the concession area, as well as their fence, dugouts and a wind-screen for the field.
Jeremy Allen has been a coach for the East Marion Eagles for the past eight years, of which the first three years he coached baseball and the last five years serving as the fast-pitch softball coach.
As he prepares to launch his new season next week, Allen said his team will remain a Class 2A, but is scheduled to undergo some redistricting and will likely being playing at least some different schools this season. The Lady Eagles are expected to have several home games early in the season, but then the majority of away games will be later on towards the end of the season.
Allen said he lost two senior players last year, but they had very limited play time. This year, however, he has four seniors who appear to have a lot of potential for moving into the college level play.
He also agreed with the other coaches about the impressive talent of the very young players in the Marion County area.
West Marion Coach Mike “Mac” McMullin, also the athletic director, is undoubtedly the most seasoned local softball coach, having been with the Trojans for the past 30 years. After spending his first five years at a school in Florida, McMullin moved here to coach at West Marion, where he has announced his plans to retire next year.
When the West Marion softball program first started in 1999, McMullin said they had no field to play on. Joey Porter (then-coach at CHS) offered to coordinate their baseball field so that WM could use it when CHS had away games.
He said the second year, West Marion used the field at Columbia Water Park. Eventually, in their third season, they built their own field at West Marion, which is affectionately known as “the swamp” due to its natural ability to hold water.
McMullin said he has 27 players on his team, which he admitted was a good problem to have, except when it comes to abiding by the Covid restrictions and distancing rules.
“I just don’t know how I’m going to practice 27 girls,” McMullin said. “They’ll have to change in shifts, practice in shifts and then re-change again in shifts.”
According to McMullin, he has four seniors this year with good play ethic and leadership skills, which he believes will serve the team well as they launch their 2021 season next week.
“We have some incredible young talent in Marion County and there’s a very bright future for softball at West Marion,” McMullin said. “This has been a really great place to be and I’m going to miss it. Please keep coming out to support the Trojans, just don’t wear your good shoes.”
The fast-pitch softball league encompasses players from sixth to 12th grades, so these are young ladies are only in the age range of about 11 to 19 years old. It’s also considered a “pitcher dominated” game, as there are no pitching restrictions on how many innings or games a particular pitch can play.
A sport that some often consider overlooked or less-acclaimed than certain other major high school sports, fast-pitch softball is nevertheless a viable sport that’s gaining in fan-base and in Columbia, Marion County and elsewhere in the region.
One common denominator that was apparently shared by all four coaches was the unexpected and detrimental impact that the Covid-19 pandemic had on their teams’ ability to adequately practice, which they all feel ultimately affected their teams’ performances. Hopefully, the pandemic interruption will soon be a thing of the past and all the local teams to resume what they do best -- play ball.
