‘Why Not Us?’: Cavs embrace underdog role, make 1st state appearance in 19 years

No one expected the John Carroll Catholic High School softball team to do what it did in the spring.

The Cavaliers stormed through the Class 5A, Area 8 tournament and the subsequent East Central Regional tournament unbeaten, as they advanced to the state tournament for the first time in 19 years. 

But they weren’t done there. At the state tournament, held at Montgomery’s Lagoon Park May 16-17, John Carroll won its first two games and finished third overall in the 5A tournament.

“It’s amazing. We had a great time,” head coach Jeri Beck said following the Cavs’ elimination from the tournament. “When you lose, it stinks. That’s a given. … Nothing about coming here and doing as well as we did stinks at all.”

John Carroll did not receive a vote to be included in the 5A top 10 rankings all season, but the Cavs adopted a pair of slogans to rally around: “Why not us?” and “All gas, no brakes.”

Those rallying cries set into motion an eight-game winning streak in postseason play. John Carroll began the area tournament on May 1 with wins over Woodlawn and Briarwood. The following day, another win was earned over Briarwood to claim the area title.

The regional tournament was held at Oxford’s Choccolocco Park May 10-11. The Cavs began the tournament with a 6-2 win over Demopolis. The Cavs held a one-run lead through four and a half innings, before they got four key insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth and held on to win.

Kayla Coley-Drayton was 2-for-3 with two RBIs in the game, and Macey Ogle struck out 12 batters in a complete game effort. She surrendered just two runs (one earned) on five hits.

John Carroll held off a late charge from Marbury that first evening, as the Cavs hung on for an 8-7 victory. Marbury jumped ahead with three runs in the first inning, but John Carroll scored six and two runs, respectively, over the second and third innings to take a five-run lead. Marbury chipped away at the lead, scoring three in the sixth, but was unable to complete the comeback.

Charlotte Phillips drove in a pair of runs, while five others notched RBIs on the game. Abigayle Parker earned the win, going five innings, while Ogle pitched the final two innings to pick up the save.

John Carroll came back the following morning and took care of business, beating Bibb County 4-2 and securing its spot at the state tournament. Abi Allarde hit a solo home run in the contest, while seventh-grader Mallory Ogle went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. Macey Ogle allowed just two hits and struck out 10, while allowing eight walks.

The state tournament began for the Cavs the morning of May 16, when they dominated Sardis 11-1. Coley-Drayton and Claire Boone each homered and drove in four runs in the rout, while Macey Ogle surrendered just an unearned run on four hits. John Carroll then faced Rehobeth later in the day and opened a 3-1 lead before the game was halted and play postponed to the following morning due to rain.

Rehobeth struck with a run in the top of the first, before Boone singled to tie the game in the bottom half. John Carroll put across two more runs in the second inning before the rain came. The team was unfazed by the challenging circumstances and finished off a 3-2 victory the next day.

“[They handled it] like troopers,” said Beck, who just completed her fifth season as coach. “We fed them, put them to bed and said, ‘All right, you’ve got to be up at 6 a.m. and we’ve got to get started again.’”

Beck said her team was able to play without pressure due to not having to live up to any outside expectations.

“Honestly, we had nothing to lose,” she said. “We were the underdog the entire time. Nobody figured we’d even be here, and that’s all right. We proved what hard work and teamwork looks like.”

That lack of expectations likely had less to do with the actual talent on the field for John Carroll and more to do with the youth of the squad. Outside of Alyssa Barnes, a six-year starting senior, and Sydni Dysart, everyone else is set to return for the Cavs next year. 

Mallory Ogle is a seventh-grader, Coley-Drayton (first base) and Gracie Mills (shortstop) are in eighth grade and second baseman Phillips and Macey Ogle are freshmen.

“They’re young, they’re very young,” Beck said. “You’ll probably be seeing them for a while.”

A few hours after the Rehobeth win, John Carroll fell to eventual champ Hayden and Rehobeth exacted revenge and knocked off the Cavs in a game that ended shortly before midnight. Despite the consecutive setbacks, the Cavs’ postgame vibe was a positive one, as the team realized the step forward taken by the program.

“I’m hoping it means nothing but good things from this point forward and that we can continue to build on that and be that team that they’re seeing here all the time,” Beck said.