For the second straight year, Purvis has returned to the state championship.
The Lady Tornadoes defeated the same team in South State. They will make the same 25-minute drive to the Southern Miss Softball Complex, but the biggest difference is that this year’s team will have experience.
“It’s what was expected all along,” Purvis coach Lindsay Robertson said. “This was our ultimate goal. We haven’t celebrated much because a lot of it has been the expectations of what we expected to do. This time we just want to finish business.”
However, having championship experience works two-fold as Purvis (28-6) features four starters on the volleyball team that also made back-to-back state championship appearances, which featured them losing in 2023, but returning and winning in 2024.
The only difference this year is that Purvis will face Itawamba Agricultural (32-7), who defeated the defending champions, West Lauderdale, in North State.
The Indians’ roster features the Class 4A Ms. Softball, Layla Owens. The junior holds a 0.74 ERA, a 19-3 record, 198 strikeouts and 25 walks in 123 innings of work. She’s also put up a .329 batting average.
“They are a talented group and have Ms. Softball,” Robertson said. “She mainly has three pitches. She has the screwball, curveball, and tries to work the riseball a little bit. My girls, I feel like, are pretty seasoned. I’ve put them up against stiff competition this season. I feel like if we play the way we are supposed to play, then we should be in good shape. We have not played an easy schedule at all.”
Chelsea Regan will be Purvis’ go-to arm as she holds a 1.32 ERA, while in the batter’s box, she has put up a .400 batting average and 30 RBI.
As a team, Itawamba AHS holds a .314 batting average and has stolen 101 bases. Skylar Partlow and Ari McAlexander have combined for 60 of those stolen bases. Partlow also leads the team with a .421 average.
“It’s a lot of situational things for them,” Robertson said. “The leadoff batter is a really quality hitter. They have a few throughout the lineup that they like to run on the bases, as far as stolen bases and different things like that. They are a well-equipped mixture of athletes.”
As for Purvis, the Lady Tornadoes feature a .372 batting average and have stolen 119 bases as a team. Notably, Purvis’ four state champion volleyball players are also key pieces in the lineup, which features Aubrey Easley (.315, 31 RBI), Hattie Tynes (.303, 24 RBI), Allee Williamson (.453, 30 RBI), and Brooxie Shepherd (.475, 29 RBI).
“Until you have gone and done that, you have no idea what that environment is like and the fast pace of everything,” Robertson said. “I think we are in a blessed situation because not only did we experience this last year with only one senior, but I have four members of the volleyball team who experienced it twice as well. They walked away with the hardware this past fall, so that makes a huge difference.”
Purvis and Itawamba AHS will face off on Thursday and Friday, with game times set for 1:30 p.m. If necessary, Game 3 will be played on Saturday with a time to be announced later.
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