Colquitt County Packers Packer Park • Moultrie, GA • www.colquitt.high.schooldesk.net/Athletics/Softball Keep Calm And Play Softball He is a great coach and wants the best for us,” says junior Dianna Durham. New seniors now have to fill in leadership roles. Those impact players for the 2013-14 season are #3 Taylor Owens playing second base, #18 Shelby Rakestraw playing first base, #22 Ainsley Davis playing pitcher and third base, #23 Cheyenne Sumner playing outfield, and #8 Kasie Ricks playing as a utility player. A utility player in sports is a player who can play many positions on the field. The juniors of the team are #2 Dianna Durham playing outfield, #5 Cheyenne Tillman playing third base and pitcher, #10 Chazmin Singletary playing outfield, and #21 Madison Robinson playing first base. The sophomores include: shortstop #4 Amber Kling, catcher #12 Christy Crosby, and #6 Nikki Johnson and #14 Christin Hunnicutt playing as utility-type players. The only freshman is #11 Paris Sumner playing catcher. The troubles of last season aside, the Packers are persevering through the season. Starting early during the summer, Mobley had the young group sweating and working hard on the practice field. The team started the season off against Thomasville on August 13. The
Lady Pack won 5-3. Since then, the team has won only one of the past seven games, going 0-2 in region matches. The team has a booked schedule which is arguably the hardest in recent Packer history. Also, the team has only played eight of the 28-game season. “It’s been a tough schedule, but that was on my part. We went to Atlanta and were only one or two big hits or plays from winning, and really I have been trying to change the mentality of the girls so that they can focus on the positive and not the negative. I’m also really trying to change the mentality of the team in a sense so that when people play Colquitt, it will be a feared name. I want it to be so people dread this team when they play us,” says Mobley. Having been with a wellrounded, tough group of boys on the baseball field, Coach Mobley has had much experience in the mentality of the sport. Senior Taylor Owens is excited for the upcoming year stating, “Personally my main goal for this year is to use the adversity and change we’ve been faced with the last few seasons to be our driving force for success, to remember we’re still one team with one dream, and at the end of the day, trust our abilities and put our hearts on the field every single play of every single game.”
Photos by Connie Southwell
At Colquitt County High School, softball has been put on the back-burner. With the football team going deep into the playoffs and the wrestling team winning championships, the softball team has not had the attention it deserves. Nonetheless, the team has potential. The inexperienced are gaining key varsity and junior varsity playing time, and this team could potentially make a deep run in the state playoffs. The team persisted last year, posing a 15-11 record, finishing 4-2 in region play. During the 2012-13 season, the team fell under a coaching change as long time Coaches John and Carmen Phillips transferred to Pierce County. Coach Jake Mobley stepped in as assistant coach of the latter part of the season and was named head coach during the summer of 2013. During his first year as assistant, Mobley helped the Lady Pack to the second round of the playoffs in their first year as a Region 1 6A contender. Mobley, along with Ryan Strickland, Stacy Dunn, and Chance Pitts make up the 2013-14 coaching staff. Even though Mobley’s aggressive workout tactics are feared by baseball players and other athletes, he has made a good impression with the softball team. “I really like it. Things are more intense, and we get a lot more done than before.
by Garrett May
The Colquitt County Varsity Lady Pack Back row (L to R): Shelby Rakestraw, Ainsley Davis, Coach Chance Pitts, Coach Ryan Strickland, Coach Jake Mobley, Coach Stacy Dunn, Madison Robinson and Cheyenne Sumner. Front row (L to R): Diana Durham, Taylor Owens, Amber Kling, Cheyenne Tillman, Nikki Johnson, Kasie Ricks, Chazmin Singletary, Christy Crosby, and Christin Hunnicutt
The Colquitt County Junior Varsity Lady Pack Back row (L to R): Sydney Dalton, Paris Sumner, Coach Chance Pitts, Coach Ryan Strickland, Coach Jake Mobley, Coach Stacy Dunn, Orion Wilson, Hannah Hollandsworth, and Sarah Mateny. Front row (L to R): Loragrace Bruce, Reagan Goforth, Taylor Kight, Caitlyn Meadows, Aubrey Greene, Ashley Spradley, Dalyn Dell, Dakota Baker and Emily Dozier.
SUMMER 353 Northside Drive 28
Valdosta, GA 31602
Tanning Salon
229-245-8285
esummer@mchsi.com