Worth County softball kicking things up a notch

SYLVESTER — At the field where Worth County plays its softball games, the pictures of the team’s six seniors hang on the center-field fence.

Their journey has been an interesting one. And it’s one that they would like to keep riding right through the end of October.

Heading into Monday’s game at Crisp County, Worth County had yet to lose this season. The 17-0 mark has the Rams leading the Score Atlanta GHSA Class 3A rankings, and the team is gearing up for what it hopes will be a third straight trip to Columbus and the Elite Eight.

“It’s a team effort,” said Taylor Layfield, who forms a formidible senior pitching combination with Caroline Newton. “We’ve all worked together to be where we are today.”

It was the inability to make the playoffs three years ago that has motivated the Rams, specfically a senior class that also includes Rebekah Hughes, Brinsley Graddy, Madison Scott and Kailey Parr.

As sophomores, the current Worth County seniors defeated Hampton and advanced to the Class 4A Elite Eight with two close wins over Whitewater. Last year, the Rams breezed into Columbus and the Class 3A Elite Eight with sweeps of Windsor Forest and North Hall.

In 2017, Worth County is looking to stick around longer in Columbus. The Rams went out of the Elite Eight 0-2 in both 2015 and 2016, with 10-1 losses to Pike County and Calhoun in last year’s tournament.

“This team is led by six seniors who have played together pretty much their whole lives,” Worth County head coach Kaleb Hathcock said. “Not making the playoffs as freshmen have drove them ever since. Now that they’ve been to the Elite Eight the past two years, they want to go deeper this year.”

So far, this has been a season of dominance for Worth County softball. All but three of the Rams’ wins have come by three or more runs, with a 3-2 win on Aug. 22 at Cook being the only one-run contest.

The dominance has come both from the pitching circle and the plate. Worth County pitchers have nine shutouts this season, while the Rams have scored five or more runs in all but three games.

Offensively, Newton is batting .615 with 24 runs scored and 21 RBI. Graddy is batting .449 with 26 RBI, and Layfield is batting .422 with five home runs.

Both Newton and Layfield have ERAs under 1.00, and both are on pace to finish the season with more than 100 strikeouts.

“All of the pieces are in place,” Hathcock said. “It’s just a matter of executing.”

Worth County has a busy week this week, traveling to Cook on Tuesday and Lowndes on Wednesday before hosting Dougherty on Thursday, a game in which the team will be honoring its seniors.