Hannah-Pamplico softball wins 2nd state championship in 4 years
PAMPLICO, S.C. − What started this season as a softball team ended as a joyous mass of humanity.
From the pile-on at home plate to the hugs and tears, this was exactly what Hannah-Pamplico's Raiders worked for: A state softball championship, the program's second in four years.
Hannah-Pamplico's softball team poses after winning this year's state championship for SCHSL Class A.
"It was one of those movie moments you dream of every night," said Meredith Stone, one of the Raiders' seniors.
It was certainly a dream sequence on Friday night when fellow Raider senior Savannah Owens − complete with the words "Hot Wheels" on her helmet − sped home on sophomore London Lee's single in the bottom of the seventh to give coach Amber Knight's team a 4-3 win at home over Whitmire to sweep the best-of-3 series for the SCHSL's Class A crown.
Bad weather forced the first two games' sites to be switched, prompting Knight to tell her players this home celebration was meant to be.
"We were so defeated when it kept raining and raining and raining," Knight said. "And then it finally hit me. I said, 'Girls, nothing happens by chance. Nothing is a coincidence. It is meant for you to win the state championship at home.'"
In 2023, the Raiders won their only other state championship at a neutral site against Lewisville.
Hannah-Pamplico's Savannah Owens reaches home plate to score the state championship-winning run.
On Friday, the bases were loaded with one out when Lee stepped to the plate.
"I don't really think I saw anything; I think I blacked out," Lee said, laughing. "I was really shaking in my boots."
But then, she hit her single toward center field, and Owens was on her way home.
"I was listening to (Knight), and she said, 'Go!' And I went," Owens said. "When I got home and was safe, my mind just went blank."
It was the culmination of a journey, during which the Knights were not afraid to play regular-season games against anyone -- from Class 5A/D2 semifinalist West Florence to SCISA state champion Pee Dee Academy.
"I have such adoration for these kids' drive and their grit," Knight said. "We play in the hardest region there is. And these kids had been playing big ball like this since literally March. This is the culture we've set, and these are the games we play all year around."
Winning pitcher Kadence Poston, another senior, went the distance Friday while striking out seven batters.
"This means a lot," Poston said. "We went into this high school, winning the state championship. So, we really wanted to close it out. We've already graduated (last week), so we're alumni. We're just happy to win this for the school and the community."
The bottom of the seventh started with Owens drawing a walk and Poston hitting a single. The two advanced on Stone's flyout, and Chloe Cooper (another senior) was intentionally walked to load the bases before Lee's heroics.
Heroics had to come from somewhere to keep this game from going into extra innings. The Wolverines scored two in the sixth and another in the top of the seventh to complete a comeback from a 3-0 deficit.
After Whitmire tied it at 3 on Autumn Gilliam's single with one out, Poston responded by inducing a flyout and recording a strikeout to end the threat.
"I had to remember, 'Just throw strikes; trust the Lord and trust my teammates," Poston said.
Hannah-Pamplico's defense was also clutch in the top of the fourth when Whitmire loaded the bases with one out. The Wolverines' Brielle Whitmire hit a grounder to H-P first baseman Ava Johnson, who threw to Stone for the forceout at home. Then, Stone threw it back to first for the inning-ending double play to keep Whitmire scoreless at the time.
The Raiders took a 1-0 lead in the second when Whitmire committed an error on a ball hit by Alexa Wenger, resulting in Lee scoring.
H-P's lead grew to 2-0 in the bottom of the fourth when Wenger scored on Khloe Avant's single. And the Raiders led 3-0 in the fifth after Stone scored on Lee's groundout.
After Whitmire's comeback, Knight still had faith her team would pull this win out.
"Having five seniors and a seventh-grader, it took all 15 of them to get it done," Knight said. "The leadership the seniors showed in picking up the younger ones is what I'll remember, as well as all the adversity they faced and overcame. There were games we came back and won that we shouldn't have won.
"It's about their drive and their want," she added. "These kids wanted this, and that's why they're here."
Hannah-Pamplico won the SCHSL's Class A state softball championship for the second time in four years.
