HOLLY HILL — Before the season began, Henry Lockey put together booklets and handed them out to the players on his Holly Hill Academy softball team.

Inside the booklets was a list of all the team’s games, their successes and failures. One success — making it to the SCISAA Class AA state title game three straight years. One very big failure — losing the last two of them.

“Five of the six seniors know what it’s like to win a state championship, and all six of them know what it’s like to lose,” Lockey said. “They know what they have to do to win. They know it’s not always the best team but the team that plays the best.”

Lockey will know for sure if the above is true soon enough because he and his team are scheduled to depart from Holly Hill to Lexington around 11 a.m. Friday to compete in the SCISAA Class AA softball tournament. If all goes well they will wrap up a state title sometime Saturday afternoon at Oak Grove Softball Complex.

“They told me the other night that they would be focused come Friday,” Lockey said. “That’s the first time in 11 years a team has told me something like that.”

HHA (19-8) heads into Friday as the tournament’s top seed. Win, and the Lady Raiders will be the home team throughout the tournament. And, things are a little easier because HHA was scheduled to open the tournament at 3 p.m. against Faith Christian. That won’t happen because, well, according to Lockey, Faith Christian didn’t know they were in the playoffs.

“They didn’t think they were going to make the playoffs,” he said. “So, they turned in their uniforms and everything else. When they found out about it they decided they were just not going to play.”

So, Lockey and his team will check in and watch the first-round 3 p.m. matchup between Dillon Christian and W.W. King. Then at 6 p.m. they will begin play against the winner of that game. Knowing that on Saturday the SCISAA tournament turns into a marathon with endurance becoming a major factor, Lockey said the respite is welcome.

“It will save us a little bit,” he said. “Dillon and King will both throw their number-one pitcher in that first game, and that means their number one will have a game under her belt when they face us. Then, the heat could be to our advantage.”

HHA is led into the tournament by Region 6-AA Player of the Year and All-State selection Katie Carpenter. Also, Brittany Cheek, Brandy Lassiter and Taylor Owens were named to the All-Region team. Seven of the Lady Raiders starting nine are hitting between .340 and .400, with senior Trisha Mauldin leading the way with a .416 average.

SCISAA Softball State Tournament

Class AA (Friday at Oak Grove Softball Complex in Lexington)

Dorchester Academy vs. St. John’s (4:45 p.m.)

Clarendon Hall vs. Colleton Prep (4:45 p.m.)

Holly Hill Academy vs. Dillon Christian/W.W. King (6 p.m.)

Jefferson Davis Academy vs. Cathedral (3 p.m.)

Class AAA (Friday at Pine Grove Softball Complex in Lexington)

Orangeburg Prep vs. St. Joseph’s (3 p.m.)

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