GREENE COUNTY
Lake Oconee Academy has seen some recent success on the diamond from the Lady Titans’ softball team and hopes to continue on that track as it finishes the last handful of regular-season games.
Since the beginning of the month, the Lady Titans have won six of their last 10 games, with a few of those victories coming over tough opponents like Georgia Military Prep (GMC) and Commerce.
Lady Titans’ head coach Keetah Singleton told the Lake Oconee News that she is proud of the way her team has fought this season and wants them to continue heading into contests with the same attitude.
“Mental toughness has been a big part of our message in the wins and losses,” Singleton said. “When we win, it’s because we stick to playing to our strengths, grinding it out to the end, and when we lose, it’s because we come into games flat and are not there mentally. Overthinking gets us in trouble in the field and at the plate, so going forward, we just want to focus on us.”
Lake Oconee Academy saw that focus turn into results last week. The Lady Titans defeated a tough GMC team last weekend in a 1-0 contest.
They also beat Towns County twice by a combined score of 22-6 – the most recent meeting being a 16-1 Lady Titans beatdown.
With most of their region competition behind them, Singleton acknowledged the girls are focused on Washington-Wilkes – a team they lost 6-0 to a few weeks ago.
“By the last Washington-Wilkes game, we’ll have already seen everyone in the region and have a better idea of what to expect,” Singleton said. “I think we have the better team, we just have to produce like it on the field.”
To end the regular season, Lake Oconee Academy will also have to play Banks County on the road and Mount Paran Christian once more.
Singleton feels like it’s good for the players to see tougher competition before entering the postseason because it actually shows them what they need to work on.
“All of the non-region games are preparation for the state playoffs because you only qualify from how you perform in region,” Singleton said. “If you don’t play tough competition that makes you challenge yourself and helps you find the areas of weakness, then you aren’t going to actually develop the team.”
In a lot of the Lady Titans’ wins this season, pitching was a big component of the squad’s success.
The pitching duo of Jacy Singleton and Makenzie Burnette have combined for three shutouts this season and four other wins where the opposing team scored less than five runs in the contest.
Not only have the players on the mound stepped up, but Singleton praised the work of her catcher, Mary Claire McCommons, who has held it down behind the plate and become a leader through example.
“Pitching has been a vital key for us this season, and it’s kept us in a lot of games. Jacy had eight strikeouts [against Washington-Wilkes] and then came in as a reliever in the next game, and Mackenzie has also done really well with keeping our team in games,” Singleton said. “I would also be remiss if I didn’t compliment Mary Claire. When she catches, she does all the pitch calls and does a phenomenal job with that, and defensively, she is probably the best catcher I’ve seen at the high school level when it comes to her arm and stopping potential passed balls.”
The Lady Titans are currently ranked second in Region 8, with only Lincoln County and Washington-Wilkes left on their area schedule.
Singleton’s squad made it to the first round of the state playoffs last season and said she hopes they can have an even better outing this time around.