No. 2 Worth County softball brings more than big numbers to Columbus

SYLVESTER — Worth County has scored 334 runs this season. It has allowed 67. Eight of its hitters are batting .400 or better.

Those are persuasive credentials for a trip to Columbus.

What happened against Jackson might be more persuasive still.

The Lady Rams, ranked second behind Appling County, lost the opening game of their second-round playoff series, watched a freshman pitcher take a line drive to the face and found themselves needing consecutive victories to keep their season alive.

They won both.

Now Worth County, 28-4 and the No. 2 seed in Class 3A, will face Brantley County at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28, at the South Commons Softball Complex in the opening round of the GHSA Elite Eight.

The Lady Rams arrive with an offense capable of changing a game quickly, two pitchers who have combined for 28 victories and a coach who believes his team can handle what comes next.

“These girls are battle tested,” Zach Mauldin said. “They’ve been in big games and don’t let the pressure rattle them. They believe in one another.”

Against Jackson, they had reason to lean on that belief.

Austyn Kate Rucker was struck by a line drive during Monday’s second game, returned to finish the 3-2 victory and pitched again in Tuesday’s deciding game. Worth won that one 16-12.

Mauldin said Rucker is ready for Columbus.

“She came back and pitched game three against Jackson,” he said. “She wasn’t as sharp but effective enough for us to win. She’s a bulldog.”

Her season provides supporting evidence. Rucker is 14-0 with a 1.78 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 74⅔ innings.

She also gives Worth something particularly useful in a double-elimination tournament: a second dependable arm alongside Laurie Pritchard.

Pritchard is 14-4 with a 1.51 ERA, 143 strikeouts and 23 walks in 97⅓ innings. Together, they have held opponents to a .199 batting average.

Then Pritchard picks up a bat, and the assignment becomes considerably less pleasant for the other team.

She leads Worth with a .521 average, 12 home runs and 65 RBIs. Of her 50 hits, 28 have gone for extra bases. She has struck out six times in 114 plate appearances.

Worth can also manufacture trouble without hitting a ball over the fence.

Isabelle Hancock is batting .484 with 58 runs and 35 stolen bases. Molly Williford is hitting .481 with a .616 on-base percentage, 50 runs and 19 steals. The Lady Rams have succeeded on 96 of 102 stolen-base attempts.

That combination puts pressure on a defense before the middle of the order gets its turn.

Ellasyn Gandy has supplied a .427 average, 10 doubles and 41 RBIs. Rucker, Kayelee Mathews and Ansley Bartley are also hitting above .400.

And Kamryn Kendrick, batting an even .400, just delivered the biggest offensive performance of Worth’s postseason.

The senior hit two home runs, including a grand slam, and drove in seven runs in the clincher against Jackson. On an afternoon when Worth needed 16 runs to settle matters, Kendrick drove in nearly half of them.

The reward is a meeting with an opponent that gave the Lady Rams considerable trouble last season.

Worth and Brantley shared a region before the latest GHSA realignment. They played three times. Brantley won all three by wide margins.

That history offers an obvious storyline. Mauldin sees little reason to make it his team’s focus.

“Honestly, we don’t think about it too much,” he said. “We are motivated enough to be on this stage.”

The Lady Rams have already demonstrated why they belong there. They overwhelmed opponents for much of the fall, then survived a series in which very little came easily.

Columbus will demand more of the same composure. The double-elimination format provides a chance to recover from a loss, but every team remaining has won its way through two playoff rounds.

“Brantley is a good team,” Mauldin said. “Everyone is at this point, so we have to come with a lot of energy and just play Worth County softball.”

For 32 games, that has meant power, speed and pitching. Against Jackson, it also meant finding a way through trouble.

Worth will take all four to Columbus.