The Jackson Prep softball team won the MAIS AAAA overall fast pitch softball championship on Saturday, October 8.

Coach Cory Caton, who is the softball team’s head coach, has been coaching at Prep for thirteen years and has brought in a new assistant coach this year, Coach Meredith Owen, a former softball player at Prep.

Coach Caton has played and coached softball for a long time. She loves to watch these girls achieve their goals, and her favorite thing is to watch the girls grow from seventh grade to twelfth.

Heading into the playoffs, Coach Caton said this about the season, “So far it has been a really great season full of some awesome accomplishments.”

The softball team was made up of thirteen girls. No seniors were on the softball team this year, so this gives everyone a chance to step up and be a leader. Dakota Jones, Bailey Winscott, and Haley Hanson are the juniors on the team.

A few girls to watch are eighth grader Olivia Sasser, and ninth grader Carly Lewis. They are starters along with a handful of sophomores.

“Both Drea Morgan and Breley Boykin have carried the load pitching,” says Coach Caton.

The softball team had a solid starting lineup this year. These are the regular starters: Bailey Winscott, Drea Morgan, Haley Hanson, Carly Lewis, Breley Boykin, McKinley Weeks, Dakota Jones, Olivia Sasser, Shea Lumpkin. Two pitchers have combined for sev-
enteen shutouts and seven out of the nine girls that are starting have hit homeruns this year.

Eighth grader Sydney Rey said, “It has been a great year. I love the girls on the team and the atmosphere.”

“We have really awesome chemistry on this team,” says Coach Caton. She says the keys to their success include their ability to stay focused.

The softball team competed on Monday, September 26 at Shiloh Park in Brandon Mississippi against Parklane. They won twelve to three becoming AAAA Division 1 StateChampions. They advanced to the overall championship.

The final game of the series came Saturday night, and the Patriots came out on top, beating Oak Forest 9-2. Dakota Jones was named Clarion Ledger Metro Girls Athlete of the Week