Return to the Top: Indian Land softball defeats St. James for first title since 2006
For the first time in two decades, Indian Land is a champion in South Carolina softball.
The Warriors defeated St. James, 4-0, on Saturday in the deciding game of the best-of-three Class 5A Division II softball championship series at South Florence High School.
“I think they had the fire underneath them. We have been talking about winning a state championship all year. And here we are. They proved themselves,” said Indian Land coach Monica Barfield.
It is Indian Land’s 10th title in program history, the first since 2006. The Warriors were a softball dynasty from 1997-2006, winning nine titles in a 10-year period on the Class A level.
As the school continued to grow and move up in classifications, the program didn’t enjoy the same postseason success. But Barfield returned for her second stint in 2017, trying to get the Warriors going again.
Barfield was head coach for Indian Land in its last three championship seasons, but took some time off before coming back. Since her return, the Warriors have shown progress as they moved up in classifications and have been in the state’s second-largest class the last two years.
Indian Land made it to the district championship last season in its first year in 5A Division II and backed it up with a title run this year. The Warriors will be moving down to Class 4A for the next two years as part of SC High School League realignment.
Indian Land had to beat Woodmont twice to get out of the district round before sweeping TL Hanna in the Upper State championship series.
The Warriors dropped the opening game of the title series at home against St. James on Monday and endured three long bus rides only to have Game 2 postponed twice.
The Warriors evened up the series on Friday, 3-1, and used a big fourth inning and dominant performance by South Carolina signee Olivia Miller to win the title.
“Those long bus rides really took a toll on the girls. Getting home late and waking up early,” Miller said. “But I think all of it, we found a way to keep it together and push through.”
Indian Land scored all of its runs in the fourth inning. Miller and Taylor Marvin had back-to-back RBI doubles and Lydia Crandall followed with an RBI single to make it 3-0. Miller, Marvin and Crandall each had two hits in the game.
Avery Clark, the winning pitcher in Friday’s game, added an RBI double with two outs in the fourth to make it 4-0.
That was more than enough for Miller, who bounced back from the loss in the opener, to toss the complete-game shutout. The senior allowed just three hits, struck out six and didn’t walk a batter.
“We drove to St. James three days straight for over 20 hours to try and get the game in and that lit them up,” Barfield said. “… They started believing in themselves and came back and won (Friday). And here we are today.”
St. James finished as state-runner up for the second straight year. The Sharks entered the playoffs with a 31-1 record and were nationally ranked by MaxPreps (No. 18) for the first time in school history.
Kenzie Krause, Payton Cox and Khloee Barton each had hits for the Sharks.
