The Escambia County Lady Blue Devils had one goal from the first day of off season workouts. That goal was to reach the region tournament.

All the hard work of implementing a training program and following it all the way through to the beginning of the season paid off.
The Lady Devils made the most of their efforts and found a way to accomplish their goal.

After a 9-0 start to the season, they faced adversity in suffering their first loss and going 1-3 against the two toughest opponents in their area, Saraland and UMS-Wright, during the regular season.

In the regular season, they found a way to beat Saraland and in the area tournament, they put all the frustration of playing UMS-Wright behind them by pulling off a momumental upset of the tournament’s host.

Their prize for that win was a trip to the regional tournament that puts abig check mark next to their top goal to start the season.

Coach Darryl Otwell has all of his energy to turning his team into competitors, and the work has paid off.

All of the off season work plus practices during the season helped pave the way to success.

The surprising thing about this team is that they only have one senior and one other upperclassman starting on the roster. The rest of the players are sophomores, freshmen and a seventh grader.

This shows two things about this program. One, they are young and will only get better in the years to come. That could make them a fixture in the regional, polls and possibly the state tournament. Two, Otwell has proven his status as a coach and will only get better with time. He is still learning the rules and regulations of softball. This combination is sure to make ECHS a strong softball program.

This Friday’s game against Headland in the tournament will be the team’s toughest game this year.

Hopefully, Otwell and his team will come out with a fire and find a way to pull off another victory and extend their season another day.
If not, it will be a long wait to see how far they can go next season.

Chandler Myers is sports editor of the Atmore Advance. He can be reached at 368-2123 or by e-mail at sports@atmore