Gracee Wood holds the bag at second after shortstop Ella Bruce threw to her for a force out.

TIFTON — The calendar still reads July, but school activities are just around the corner for Tift County High students. Lady Devils softball will be the first to take the plunge into the 2023-24 school year.

Softball will host a scrimmage against Cook on Aug. 1 at 5 p.m. A week later, they travel to Crisp County to open the regular season. Colquitt County is slated to be the first home game of the year on Aug. 10.

“It’s been good,” said head coach Taylor Barber of their summer. “A lot of learning.” June was more of a teaching month, he said. July began with dead week, then Barber made practice optional last week. Tift is a dedicated crew and he said he had at least eight or nine show up every day to field, hit in the batting cages and lift weights.

For the second straight season, Tift’s mantra is “1-0,” which can apply to any situation. Take the game one pitch at a time and try to win each individual battle. If one pitch does not go their way, they forget it and try to win the next one. “We decided to keep it,” Barber said. “It’s a mentality I want them to have.”

They rode 1-0 to a 17-16 season last year, their first winning record since 2015. Tift fought its way to the super regional finals, one win short of going to the big dance in Columbus.

It’s been steady growth for Barber since he arrived. The initial 2019 team won seven games, but came a long way to do so. They hovered around .500 until last year’s breakthrough.

Their mantra has been shored up with some pillars, guides to getting there: “Toughness, discipline and connection,” he said.

Loralee Bennett, Macy Hand, Bailee Williams and Gracee Wood have started since they were freshmen. The foursome are seniors now, but with a lot of hard work and player development, they aren’t the Lady Devils’ only threats.

Barber said Abby Henderson’s work ethic has made her irreplaceable, referring to her as “kind of the heart” of the program. “Every day she wants to get better,” he said. “As a coach, you couldn’t ask for anything more … She is the ultimate teammate.”

Ninth graders Riley Williams, Cora Beth McCrary and Morgan Brey are competing for playing time now. As eighth graders, they were able to play many junior varsity innings.

Bennett led the team in average a year ago at .495, also leading in runs scored at 40. All-Star Bailee Williams hit .434 in 2022, driving in 35 runs in 33 games while scoring 37 and socking 10 homers. Wood hit .344 with 27 RBIs. Hand hit .357, with 23 driven in and 24 scored.

Bailee Williams and Bennett have been playing travel softball during the summer, which have opened up opportunities for other Lady Devils during their summer work.

“We have options,” he said.

Many of the seniors have been entrenched in their positions for three years, and fans may be surprised to see them elsewhere on the field. Delanie Jewell’s graduation opened up centerfield. Barber said Hand may end up there. Left field might see Williams get a few reps. Wood, whose first catching experienced came in an emergency role in a coronavirus-affected game, has been working there to fill a void left by Angie Martinez. Henderson stays in right field, where she plays an outstanding defense.

Brey is another option in left after a very good summer. She has the athleticism to play virtually anywhere, he said. McCrary is another solid defender.

Lily Robinson has continued her upward rise. As a sophomore, Barber said she has already proven she’s staying in the lineup. Braylin Dorden had a chance at first base with Bailee Williams on the road and excelled in competition. She can also catch as can newcomer Catherine Payne.

Riley Williams got most of the second base reps this summer. “She plays really, really hard,” Barber said. Wood and Brey can play middle infield. Ella Bruce started at shortstop all of 2022. If she’s ever unable to go, Wood and Brey are backups. Bennett is a lock at third, with Brey able to play there, too.

Robinson, Wood and Emily Rowe split pitching duties last season.

The future seems fine, too. “There are a lot of kids in that eighth grade class who can really play,” Barber said.

Tift has another major addition, this time in the staff department. Jen Walls, former ABAC head softball coach, will be teaching at Tift County High and coaching pitchers for the Lady Devils. “She’s been fantastic for us all summer,” Barber said. “The kids love her.”

“For [Walls] to come over here and be on staff with us, it’s awesome,” he said.

The summer saw the Lady Devils fight back from a rough start to tie Lowndes, 8-8. In the Vereen Classic in Moultrie, they went 4-0 against Valdosta, Dodge County, Irwin County and Jeff Davis. The latter team, Jeff Davis, won the state championship in Class 2A last year. Bennett homered to away a much-improved Valdosta.

As usual, the schedule won’t do them any favors. Lassiter, Campbell, Chattahoochee, Lowndes and Colquitt County are among the non-region games. Barber specifically described Lassiter as “cream of the crop.”

The Region1-6A portion begins Aug. 22 at Veterans for a single game, with another single game Aug. 24 at home against Houston County.