By Jeff Whitten
Special for the Effingham Herald
SPRINGFIELD -- After finishing in the Elite 8 in 2023, Effingham County softball coach Brad Thompson said the goal for the No. 5-ranked Lady Rebels is to extend the 2024 season by one more day.
His team took an early step in that direction in its Aug. 13 home opener, recording an 8-3 win over visiting Glynn Academy behind a sterling effort from senior pitcher Ava Wingate.
“She pitched lights out today,” Thompson said. “That’s the best I’ve seen her pitch since I’ve been here.”
Wingate, who recorded 10 strikeouts, threw five innings of no-hit ball before the Red Terrors managed their first single. They finished with four hits and only two of their runs were earned.
“Summer games are only five innings, so she hasn’t thrown seven innings in three months.” Thompson said, noting the plan was to split the pitching duties but with Wingate tossing a no-hitter the decision was made to leave her in the game.
“I think Ava got a little tired, she left some in the zone and that’s a good softball team she faced,” he added.
Effingham County’s offense, meanwhile, struck early.
The Lady Rebels scored three runs in the first inning on Olivia Morgan's RBI double and a two-run home run to left by Ansleigh Giordano. Effingham's Abbi Jones singled in two runs in the fifth inning, and the Lady Rebels added three more in the sixth on an RBI single from Morgan and two more on Gracie LaFluer’s double.
Morgan went 3-for-4 with two RBIs while Gabbi Hill and Jones each had two hits and two RBIs, and Giordano’s home run drove in two runs. The Lady Rebels finished with 11 hits.
The Red Terrors scored all three of their runs in the last two innings, but only two were earned.
“We had some miscues, we call them gap plays and we want to see how they react after they have them. They kept their composure today,” Thompson said, adding that his team took a different approach to the offseason. “We spent most of the summer working on getting stronger and faster, and we did a lot of working out instead of playing, changing things up from how we usually do. And the weather set us back some, but no excuses, it set everybody back.”
Effingham County (2-1) played Monday at Appling County. The Rebels will meet Emanuel County Institute and Coffee County on Saturday morning at the Georgia Southern University softball complex in Statesboro.
The Lady Rebels don’t play a region game until September, but the expectations remain high for the program, which finished in the Elite 8 in 2023 and was ranked to start the season No. 5 by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“We do have high expectations,” Thompson said. “We don’t want to sound cocky, we’re not, we are confident. Last season we played on the next to the last day. Our expectation is to be playing on the last day this year. But there’s still a long road to go. We’ll keep working to plug in the best lineup to give us a chance to win.”
