State Champs! Byrnes captures first title since 2021 with dramatic walk-off vs. Summerville
They always find a way.
Even with the odds stacked heavily against them, Byrnes softball found it within them to rally not once, but twice on Saturday to win the 5-A D1 state championship over Summerville.
The Lady Rebels beat the Green Wave 5-4 in nine innings. Addy Waters walked it off in the bottom of the ninth with a two-run RBI single.
Pure elation ensued.
“I did it. I did it. In the moment, that’s all I could think about,” said Waters. “I did it for everybody.”
Not many outside of the Byrnes dugout believed it could happen. Summerville came into the series riding an 83-game win streak. The Green Wave captured the 2023 and 2024 state titles.
But Byrnes believed. The Lady Rebels never had a doubt.
“Nobody had faith in us against Summerville,” said Waters. “But we knew that we could do it. I’ve got tears of happiness right now.”
Waters walked off the win for the Lady Rebels, who captured their first state title since 2021.
The moments after the game were especially precious for the team’s seniors. All year long, they vowed to go out on top. They last secured a state title as eighth-graders, holding to the wings of seniors and upperclassmen of Byrnes past.
This time, they carried the weight on their shoulders. All the way to the finish line. All the way to another state title.
“Our senior class… we talked so much about getting back here before they were gone,” said head coach Brandi Aiken. “I’m really excited for those kids getting one more before they leave.”
Maddie Wiant’s leaving. She went out with a solid few innings of work to keep Summerville at bay.
Kara Davis is leaving. Davis went out by going 2-3 with a run and two walks.
Ellanie Yarrell’s leaving. She drove in the run to make it 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth, setting the stage for Waters’ walk off.
Kaylee Hannon’s leaving, too. She saved one of her best pitching outings of the year for last, going six frames with no earned runs, three strikeouts, and just four hits.
“I told myself at the beginning of the year, I’m not going out without a fight,” said Hannon. “This is my last year. I’m getting either a silver or a gold medal.
“And I got the one that I chose.”
Summerville held a 2-0 lead for the majority of the game, but just like Wednesday night’s thriller, Byrnes stepped up when it mattered most. Back-to-back RBI singles from Memorie Melton and Haven Holmes tied the game at two in the sixth.
It stayed that way until extras, when in the ninth, Summerville plated two runs to put Byrnes on the brink.
Garrison Aiken came up to bat first. She drew a walk. Kara Davis did the same, loading the bases. Then, Ellanie Yarrell hit a sac fly to shallow left field.
The Waters walk-off came next. The sophomore hit a dribbler down the first-base line that squeezed throught the first baseman’s legs. The winning two runs scored with ease.
Byrnes had done what most considered impossible.
“We talked a lot coming into this series about not looking too much at the opponent,” said Aiken. “Our goal was to just play Byrnes softball. We wanted to play our game and do what we needed to do to be successful.
“We talked this morning about bringing our trophy home. It had been gone too long.”
BOX SCORE
Summerville 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 4
Byrnes 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 5
BYRNES STAT LEADERS
Memorie Melton - 3-4, RBI
Addy Waters - 1-5, 2 RBI, r
Kara Davis - 2-3, R
Ellanie Yarrell - 0-4, RBI
Haven Holmes - 1-3, RBI
Maddie Wiant - 3 IP, 6 H, ER, K
Kaylee Hannon - W, 6 IP 4 H, 0 ER, 3 K