SPRINGFIELD, Ga. — Shelby Zeigler batted eighth in Effingham County’s softball lineup Wednesday night — not a spot you’d normally find a player already committed to a college program.
But the senior was in the right place at the right time. Her bases-clearing double broke a fifth-inning deadlock and propelled the Rebels to a 5-4 victory over visiting rival South Effingham in the season opener for both teams.
“There was a lot running through my mind, but when I stepped in the box, I was just thinking, ‘Do what you know you can do,’” said Zeigler, who is committed to Emmanuel College. “It felt really good coming off the bat, and I just started running.”
Turning point
Effingham County hadn’t done much offensively through the first four innings. The Rebels trailed 2-0 and had not advanced a baserunner past second base.
But the tide turned quickly in the fifth. Two walks and singles by Gracie LaFleur and Kamryn Hall brought in the first run. After two outs, Cheyenne Hart’s infield single tied the game. Then Zeigler delivered the biggest swing of the night — a drive off the center-field fence that cleared the bases and gave the Rebels a 5-2 lead.
“Shelby said the pitcher missed over the middle,” head coach Brad Thompson said. “Shelby’s too good of a hitter to leave it there, and she got a hold of it. That’s what good players do — they make you pay for mistakes.”
Electric crowd
A near-capacity crowd of about 500 packed into the stadium’s three stands and along the surrounding fence. Some fans watched from pickup trucks parked just beyond the outfield wall. Though the game didn’t count in the subregion standings, it meant everything to the local softball community.
South Effingham struck first with Abbey Jordan’s two-out RBI single in the first and Sydney Ragsdale’s solo homer in the fourth to take a 2-0 lead.
Late pressure
After the Rebels’ five-run fifth, the Mustangs responded in the sixth with a two-run burst of their own. Makenzi Polk hit a sacrifice fly and Olivia Johnson added an RBI infield single to trim the deficit to one.
Still, with the score 5-4 and runners at the corners with one out, Rebels pitcher Ansleigh Giordano — the reigning Region 1 South Subregion Player of the Year — escaped the jam. She then stranded two more South runners in the seventh to seal the win.
The Mustangs collected 10 hits but left 10 runners on base. Jordan and Polk each had two hits and an RBI. Justine Nevels also had two hits. Starting pitcher Rosie Dixon threw three scoreless innings.
Giordano led Effingham County’s 10-hit attack with three hits and earned the complete-game win. LaFleur and Hall each had two hits.
Rivalry renewed
The two programs have traded big wins over the past year. South Effingham defeated ECHS 8-5 in eight innings to win the region title last fall, but the Rebels bounced back with a 12-4 victory to eliminate the Mustangs in the Class 5A Elite Eight in Columbus.
ScoreAtlanta ranked Effingham County No. 4 and South Effingham No. 5 in its preseason Class 5A poll.
“Probably short of the playoffs and Columbus, this is about as intense an environment as we’ll see, so we wanted to test ourselves in it,” South coach Adam Newland said. “We want to develop those battle scars so when we get to late October and we arrive in those environments, it doesn’t faze us.”
Thompson said his team fed off the crowd.
“The environment was electric. In my time, it’s the biggest crowd we’ve had here,” he said. “It’s a rivalry that always delivers. It’s awesome to start the season this way.”
The teams are scheduled to meet again Sept. 3 in Guyton.
