PROSPERITY, S.C. — The Lady Rebels wrapped up the season by claiming a region title with a huge win at home. Mid-Carolina(18-6, 10-0 region 3-AA) defeated Chester(9-9, 6-4 region 3-AA) 11-1 on Monday, April 28 to capture the 2026 region 3-AA region title.
Mid-Carolina varsity softball dream regular season continued on Monday night with a chance to win the region title against a Chester squad that entered the contest winning the last four of five games. It was a tight game early on, but the Lady Rebels were able to weather the storm.
Mary Grace Bryant would get the start in the circle for Mid-Carolina and she ran into early trouble at the top of the first inning. She walked the first batter and the number two hitter in Chester’s lineup reached base on an error. The Cyclones quickly had two base runners on and were looking to strike first, but the Mid-Carolina’s defense help their pitcher get out of the jam with a double play. Bryant then had a strikeout to end the inning.
The Lady Rebels would use that momentum on offense to get themselves on the scoreboard and take an early lead. Kylie Senn brought the first run in for a score with a RBI double to give her squad a 1-0 lead. Lucie Jeffcoat got in on the action with a RBI single to score the second run of the game for the Lady Rebels.
Bryant settled into the game and was dominant at the top of second inning. She delivered two strikeouts at the top of the second inning and was able to force another hitter to hit a ground ball. The home team quickly went back to work when they get a chance again at the plate. Carter Vinson got things started with a blooper to center field to get on base. Whitley Waites had a big swing to send a ball deep over the center fielders’ head for a two-run home run to give Mid-Carolina a 4-0 lead going into the third inning.
Chester couldn’t get anything going at the top of the third inning and found themselves in deep trouble at the bottom of the third inning. Mid-Carolina would give themselves a huge cushion on the scoreboard by scoring seven runs to extend their lead. Bryant would get things going with a double to get on base and in scoring position. Senn would bring her home with a RBI double. The Lady Rebels would score again in the inning on a wild pitch to make it a 6-0 lead.
The Cyclones would walk back-to-back batters that scored another run. Katie Gallman would bring in two more runs for scores after she was able to hit a ball hard into the outfield for a RBI double. Chester would intentionally walk Waites to load up the bases, but Bryant would be back to bat again in the inning and would score two runs with her RBI double. Mid-Carolina would take a comfortable 11-0 lead into the fourth inning.
Chester would make it interesting at the top of the fifth inning. Mid-Carolina would make a pitching change and the Cyclones would take advantage of the change. Taralyn Shellenberger would bring in the only run for Chester with a hard line drive down the middle after the Cyclones were able to get two base runners in scoring position behind back-to-back walks. The home team would quickly regroup to get the final two outs and capture their second consecutive region title.
“Mary Grace has done a fantastic job all year long. They laid some bunts down and we couldn’t make a play here and there but she settled in and just threw tremendously. We had a bunt for an out, a ground ball and we struck out the last hitter. Her bearing down and taking control was so big for us,” said head coach Joey Long.
The win also gave the Lady Rebels home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
“We set our goals early in the season. We start in October and one of our team goals was to win region. We knew we were going to be young and we knew we had the ability to do it. Setting that goal and meeting that goal was so big. Putting ourselves in position with a chance and now we will host the playoffs all the way through until we lose and that’s big. It’s big to play at home in the district[playoffs] and now anything can happen,” said Long.
Mid-Carolina closed the regular season with a 21-2 win on the road against this same Chester team on Wednesday, April 29. They will now turn their focus to the playoffs which begins on May 7.
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