Morning turned into afternoon, afternoon turned into night, and the Holly Hill Academy Lady Raiders just kept on keeping on.

From that Saturday, May 10, to the next morning, 12:39 a.m. Sunday, May 11 to be exact, the Lady Raiders battled, coming back from the loser’s bracket to take the 2008 SCISA Class AA state title. As the celebration ensued after the final out, Katie Carpenter couldn’t fend off her smile — even if her elbow was a little stiff and wrapped in ice.

Since then, her performance on that day has grown into legend, prompting Holly Hill Academy headmaster John Gasque to refer to her as the girl with the “bionic arm.” Carpenter gets those references because during HHA’s 15-plus hour run to the title, she pitched all but three innings, earning the win in all five HHA victories.

“My arm is kind of sore,” Carpenter said following the win. “It’s sore, but it’s been more sore than it is now. I just have to keep the ice on it because it’s going to hurt.

“We’ve (played all day) before,” she said with a smile. “We worked toward this all year so we weren’t going to give up.”

Tuesday, Carpenter, the 2008 T&D softball player of the year, sat in a room inside the offices of The Times and Democrat and thought back to that long day. Again, she couldn’t fend off the smile.

“It is still kind of hard to believe because no one thought we could win it after we got in the loser’s bracket,” she said. “But, then it has kind of sunk in because we worked so hard, and we know we deserve it.”

Carpenter, who has played travel softball for several years, had been involved in long tournaments before, but never anything like she experienced the day of the championship.

“I had been through tournaments where we got in the losers’ bracket early and had to play through 100-degree heat,” she said. “I have never been in one that late. That was probably the most grueling tournament I have been in. By the end of the day, people on our team were pretty much collapsing and I was seeing double at one point.”

Carpenter’s outstanding performance wasn’t limited to the state title tournament. It was a year-long thing; she posted a 17-4 record, .925 earned run average and collected three saves. The rising junior also hit .467 in 107 at-bats.

Of course, she wasn’t the only player on the state-title winning Lady Raiders to have a big season, and it shows on the 2008 All-Area softball team. Carpenter is one of seven HHA players on the team.

Joining her are catcher Taylor Owens, a SCISA North-South All-Star who batted .398 with 39 hits and 17 RBIs; SCISA North-South All-Star first baseman Brandy Lassiter, who hit .314 with 27 hits, 21 RBIs and a home run; shortstop Brittany Cheek, a SCISA North-South All-Star and All-State selection who hit .322 with 29 hits and 18 RBIs; SCISA North-South All-Star third baseman Brittany Dantzler, who hit .404 with 40 hits; outfielder Trisha Mauldin, who hit .494 with 16 hits and 34 RBIs, and coach Henry Lockey, who is the All-Area first team coach of the year after leading the Lady Raiders to the title, a 25-9 overall record and an 8-0 region record.

Orangeburg Prep’s switch-hitting sophomore, Barkley Stoudenmire, is the first-team second baseman after batting .420 with 20 runs scored and 13 stolen bases; earning All-Region honors and a North-South All-Star selection. Blackville-Hilda’s Fernisha McMillan, the Region 5-A player of the year, Class A All-State selection and North-South All-Star is in the first-team outfield after batting .490 with three home runs, three triples, two doubles and 35 stolen bases. McMillan’s teammate, Candace Jones, is also in the first-team outfield after batting .390 and stealing 20 bases en route to All-Region honors.

A pair of Edisto players -- pitcher Whitney Westbury and designated hitter Hailey Carson -- round out the team. Westbury. hit .255 with 15 RBIs; she was 8-4 on the mound, striking out 88 batters in 78 innings of work while posting a 1.53 earned run average. Carson, a freshman, hit .563, had an on-base percentage of .604 and drove in 25 runs while swiping 10 bags. She was also outstanding behind the plate for Edisto, posing a .986 fielding percentage.

T&D Sports Editor Brian Linder can be reached via e-mail at blinder@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5553. Check out his blog, Welcome to Linderland, at www.thetandd.com.

You must be logged in to comment.