No. 2 Worth County opens state softball playoffs at home against Crisp County

SYLVESTER — The Worth County Lady Rams won 24 softball games this season.

Nineteen ended with the other team scoring nothing.

Let that settle for a moment.

The No. 2 seed in the Class 3A state playoffs has spent the fall turning shutouts into routine business. Now Worth County gets to begin its pursuit of a state championship at home, opening the postseason Monday against a familiar opponent.

Very familiar.

The Lady Rams will face Crisp County, the same team they defeated twice while rolling to the Region 1 championship. Worth won those meetings 17-0 and 6-0, making Crisp the victim in two of those 19 shutouts.

Crisp finished second in the region with a 6-2 record but placed 31st in the final GHSA power rankings. Worth County finished 24-3 and earned the state’s No. 2 seed, trailing only undefeated Appling County, which enters the tournament 23-0.

“We’re excited,” Worth County coach Zach Mauldin said. “For us to be able to host and play at home, it’s exciting. It’s going to be special, and I know our girls are excited to play in front of our home crowd for the state playoffs.”

The numbers suggest pitching and defense have carried the Lady Rams. Nineteen shutouts in 27 games tend to create that impression.

But this is hardly a team waiting for one run and asking its pitcher to protect it.

Worth County enters the postseason with three players batting .500 or better and four more above .400. That makes for a lineup with few comfortable places for opposing pitchers to work.

Laurie Pritchard leads the charge with a .573 batting average, 12 home runs and 61 RBIs. Isabelle Hancock is batting .541 with 40 hits, 33 stolen bases and 50 runs scored, while Molly Williford is hitting exactly .500 with 32 hits, 18 steals and 44 runs.

And that is merely the beginning.

Ellasyn Gandy carries a .465 average, followed by Kaylee Mathews at .423, Austyn Kate Rucker at .420 and Ansley Bartley at .409.

So, yes, the Lady Rams can shut down an opponent. They also can overwhelm one.

Worth County understands that beating Crisp twice provides no guarantee of doing it a third time, particularly with a season at stake. The Lady Cougars arrive with an 11-13 record but have already played their way to second place in the same region the Lady Rams dominated.

A Worth County victory would keep the Lady Rams at home for the second round. Win there, and they would advance to the Elite Eight at the South Commons Softball Complex in Columbus.

That would represent another significant step for a program hosting its first state playoff game since 2017. That Worth County team finished 29-3 and placed third in the state.

This year’s Lady Rams have built a season worthy of similar expectations. Now they get to find out how far it can carry them — beginning at a ballpark where Mauldin expects anything but a quiet Monday.

“Our fans are the best, and they pack the stands,” he said. “I expect Ram Park to be rocking on Monday.”