The Gatewood softball team’s season ended last week in the GIAA Class AA state playoffs.
The Lady Gators started the state tournament in Columbus with an exciting 6-5 walk-off win over Briarwood, but then lost to the eventual runner-up Brentwood, which sent them to the losers’ bracket. They later lost a 6-5 game to Edmund Burke, ending their season with a 14-10 record.
“We entered with high hopes. Our goal was obviously to make it to the championship game,” Gatewood head coach Dena Stancil said. “My mindset was that if we reach the Final Four, I’m pleased, but I can’t say I’m not because our girls played their hearts out in Columbus.
“In softball, it’s going to go one way or the other. It didn’t go our way this year, but they showed me we’re a state tournament team and we belong there. They know they deserve to be there every year from now on. I think this year put some gas in our tanks.”
Powering Gatewood this season were five seniors: Riley Roberts, Lily Huskins, Natalie Sills, Ellie McMillian, and Cora Tkacik. Each was instrumental in helping the Lady Gators make the postseason this year.
Stancil thinks very highly of the group.
“I’ve had three that have played with me since eighth grade, and adding those other two as freshmen really boosted our leadership,” Stancil said. “Their ability and their talent on the field is one thing, but just their maturity and their drive were unmatched. And it seeps through. Everybody on the team wanted it like this group of seniors did.
“I’ve been promising them something big since they were in eighth grade, and for the first time this season, they felt like it was theirs for the taking. So, they drove us and were the fire behind it all.”
Roberts and Sills were Gatewood’s most dominant pitchers. They performed well in the circle for the Lady Gators.
However, Stancil said Sills got injured, which placed a lot of pressure on Roberts, but both handled themselves well.
“We relied on Natalie and Riley for pitching. They’re a great pair in the circle, and really, you’re not better off with one over the other,” Stancil said. “Natalie ended up getting hurt, so we put a lot on Riley toward the end of the season. Both of them are just great; they led us all the way to the state tournament.”
Stancil stated that Huskins, McMillan, and Tkacik were also crucial to the team’s success this year. She also gave a shoutout to her younger players, who she said are already excited for next season.
“This group of freshmen I have paired with the leadership, along with the few (rising) seniors who will be returning, will be something other teams don’t want to face from now on.” Gatewood’s head coach stated. “We were just at the state meeting and (other coaches) were going down the list, saying ‘I’m glad to see senior next to some of these girls’ (names), because you won’t be as strong next year.’
"And I’m like, ‘I have five freshmen that you don’t want to face, and you’ll have to deal with them for the next three years because they’re just as lethal, just as tough, and want it just as badly as the seniors I’m losing.’”
Younger players such as McKenna Riser, Lily Arthur, Alexis Thrift, and Avery Hill, are all players to watch, Stancil said.
Riser provided one of the most significant moments of the season, she pointed out.
“McKenna had the walk-off double to win that game (against Briarwood in the state tournament). The girls went crazy,” Stancil said. “Like that’s the game they will remember the most. That might as well have been the state championship game in their mind. It was just an awesome feeling … Hopefully, we can build off that.”