Gilmer's Gospel

The Gaffney Indian softball team poses with the 4A state championship trophy on Wednesday night after beating South Florence 4-2 to clinch the crown. (Photo by John Byrum)


     Faith in your team is having championship T-shirts made up prior to the game-clinching win.
     That’s what some of the Gaffney faithful had for their softball team.
     Coach Kelly Ellis’ Lady Indians were down 2-0 after two innings (and should have been down more but pitcher Julie Sarratt struck out three straight with the bases loaded in the first) and she got a little nervous.
     She thought back to other games.
     To times when the girls battled through adversity.
     When they overcame deficits to take leads.
     Said Ellis: “They’ve pulled us through before and I kept saying it to myself, ‘They’re going to pull us through.’”
     And they did.
     Three runs in the fifth inning were enough, coupled with Julie Sarratt’s solo homer in the third inning, for the Indians to win the school’s first state title in the sport.
     Gaffney beat South Florence 4-2 on Wednesday night.
     The final strike was thrown and the T-shirts were handed out.
     Smiling interviews with the media were done in those shirts. The girls were happy to wear them. And they should be.
     Megan Sexton hit a two-run double in the fifth inning to break a 2-2 tie and give Sarratt enough support to get another win.
     Easily the biggest win in the program’s history.
     Ellis has coached for 20 years and never won a state title. The program hadn’t either.
     “It’s awesome,” Ellis said. “I’m so proud of these girls.”
     Ellis was on the field just moments after the final out, grabbing Sarratt in a bear hug.
     Family members piled onto the field with cameras to capture the smiling moments. The Indians accepted their gold medallions while facing the crowd, so everyone could see.
     These Indians wanted to win the title in front of their crowd and not at a neutral site on Friday.
     A 3-0 win at South Florence on Monday set up the possibility of a championship victory in Gaffney.
     “It was very important to do it here tonight,” Sarratt said. “The crowd helped us through the whole game just being able to hear them cheer us on.”
     “This feels amazing. It’s great,” shortstop Courtney Campbell said. “People didn’t expect us to do this.”
     Someone did.
     Or they wouldn’t have spent the money on those T-shirts.

  
Gaffney all-state pitcher Julie Sarratt just didn't hurt the Bruins from the mound, but at the plate, too. She hit her second homer of the series on Wednesday in the third inning. (Photo by John Byrum)