Putnam County’s 14U All-Star softball team recently won the 2025 Georgia Recreation and Park Association’s state title.
Putnam’s all-star team included Lily Arthur, Kaylee Collis, Sylvie Huskins, Gracie Lowery, Abby Mashburn, Layla Moore, Gracynn Rios, Abigail Roberts, Colbie Stolley, Alexis Thrift, Mea Thrift, and Maddie Tintle.
The team was coached by Bryan Arthur and Chris Huskins, who have led this group of girls for a long time. Huskins said most of the Putnam girls were also on the team that won the 10U state championship a few years ago.
“There were a couple of changes and differences,” he said, “but by and large, the core was the same.”
Greene County, which is in Putnam’s district, was an automatic qualifier because it hosted the state tournament. Putnam didn’t compete in the district tournament, but Arthur set up scrimmages with travel ball teams and arranged games against them before the start of the state tournament in Greensboro.
“That gave us four to six games a day on Saturdays with these girls,” Huskins said. “I truly believe that was the turning point.
I can’t remember the exact record, but it was around 12-1 or 13-2. We knew we had something special with them, and it all depended on the competition.”
Putnam finished 4-1 at the state tournament to win the championship.
The team easily beat Johnson County (23-1), Berrien County (13-1), and Metter (16-0) to reach the final round from the winner’s bracket.
In the final, Putnam faced Adel, out of Cook County. However, after outscoring their opponents 52-4 in its first three contests, the Eatonton girls lost 7-3 to Adel, forcing a winner-take-all game two to decide the state champion.
Putnam rebounded, defeating Adel 12-6 in the deciding game for the state title.
“Cook had to win, and they won the first game. They were a really good team,” Huskins said. “It was a challenge, although we knew what to say to our players, because they were beaten down. They hadn’t lost a game in a long time, and then they just lost one. But they came back and really swung the bat well to win.”
Arthur said the entire season’s journey to winning the title was exciting for everyone involved.
“They built lifelong friendships and memories,” he said of his players. “One day, they can share those with their kids.”