ACE, Tattnall among strongest teams in Macon ahead of 2024 softball season

While football season is on the minds of many sports fans, softball season looms just as near on the horizon, and Bibb County has some impressive athletes in the region.

Among the region’s top teams are Tattnall and the Academy for Classical Education, but there’s plenty of intriguing teams across the board in Macon. Here’s a look at the two defending region champs from Macon and the impending season.

Public schools

The ACE Gryphons, though relatively young compared to some of the Bibb County schools they share a region with, established themselves as a powerful team early on and have not relinquished their grip on the area since going undefeated and earning a state championship in 2021.

Led by head coach Josh McLendon, also the ACE athletic director and baseball coach, they’ll try to make it back to that peak this year. They’re coming off a 25-6 season that included a 14-0 mark in region play and playoff run that ended with losses to Jeff Davis High School and Pierce County.

“We love that challenge and always try to rise to it,” he said. “That’s always our goal, is to play hard, win the region and make it back to Columbus so we can play for a state championship.”

As it is for any high school team, sustained success can be a challenge, but McLendon is confident in his team’s skill level this year. The biggest blow the Gryphons took between last season and the 2024 campaign was the loss of one of their best pitchers, who transferred out for personal reasons.

“I won’t get into the details or name of that player, because while I’m sure people can read into it and figure it out, I think she made her decision and I respect that,” McLendon said. “We’ve had a pretty good run the last several years, there’s no doubt, but you’re definitely gonna hit highs and lows in high school. We’ve graduated a decent bit of college talent, so that hurts. We’ll always bounce back, though, and I think we’ve got a strong team this year.”

Some of their top players include a group McLendon refers to as the “core four,” a group of players who started as freshmen on the championship team in 2021 — outfielders Laney Bridges and Madisyn Hallar along with two sisters Karlee and Karsyn Yates in the infield.

“Those four kind of came onto the team and wowed people when we made that surprise run for the state title, because it was kind of like ‘Who are you? Y’all came out of nowhere,’” McLendon said. “Those four girls have always played hard and they will be a huge part of our success this year in different ways.”

The Yates sisters will be particularly interesting — Karlee and Karsyn both play basketball as well, but each tore an ACL about a week apart during hoops season.

“It’s one of those crazy things where you barely believe it happened, but they have both been amazing working through rehab,” McLendon said. “They won’t be able to play just yet at the beginning of the season, but we are really hoping they’ll be with the team down the stretch.”

The Gryphons won’t be the only strong team in town. The Northeast Raiders had a solid season as well, placing second in the region and scoring even more runs than the Gryphons did, per MaxPreps, though their pitching was not as dominant in region play.

Kaitlyn Deshazer stands out as both a pitcher and hitter, even notching a five-hit performance on one occasion last season and often leading the Raiders on the mound as a sophomore. Shortstop Melanie Riggins was another sophomore standout for Northeast.

ACE and the Raiders will both play in a new region that should prove more competitive than their most recent grouping.

“I’ve been trying to do research on these teams because they’re new to us, and I’m still always trying to learn more about teams we play, but I already know there’s some really strong programs we’re going to meet,” McLendon said. “I know Bleckley County and Dublin have very strong softball programs, and East Laurens is on the rise. Plus we have a lot of the Macon teams staying with us in the region, and those are always great games to play.”

Other intriguing Macon squads include Howard, which put together a solid season before a seven-game losing streak halted their momentum late in the year, and Rutland, a team that played around .500 ball last season and notched a winning record in region play with just three seniors on their roster, per MaxPreps.

Private schools

On the GIAA side of the equation, the Tattnall Square Academy Trojans have been dominant in recent memory. While a state title has eluded them, head coach Jordan Brooks has led a fierce team that has shown championship-caliber talent each year and graduated multiple players to the college level.

“We all know this team can be for real. We’ve seen ourselves play at that state title level and we want to get all the way there and win it,” Brooks said. “We know we can play at that level and it doesn’t matter who we graduated last season, we are playing for that. We have a team that can play that well.”

The key loss for the Trojans was Caroline Patterson, a standout catcher who graduated early at season’s end last year to join the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. There’s other players Brooks knows will step up at TSA, though.

“We have Gradie Appling, who is committed to LSU in the future.  We have plenty of great players to go with her, we also have a rock for us, Anna Talcott, who will play a lot of first base and even catcher if she needs to,” he said. “We’re solid up the middle and in center, we just have a really well-rounded team.”

Brooks considers the middle of the field the “nexus” of the team’s success, he said, and will depend on Appling and her teammates to play solid defense.

The Trojans will face a slew of tough opponents, chief among them the Westfield Hornets of Perry, who have won seven consecutive state titles. Tattnall lost to Westfield in the postseason last year.

Other key teams from out of town include John Milledge and Piedmont Academy, but opponents from Macon like Stratford and FPD are no slouches either.

“The fact that we play teams like John Milledge or FPD or Piedmont all year, that’s what makes us a great team,” Brooks said. “To play championship level, competitive teams in your regular season is what makes you great, so we really like to take advantage of those opportunities.”

The Vikings will look to improve on their second-place region finish last season. Stratford Academy finished with a winning mark but couldn’t parlay the success into the playoffs, winning two postseason games but losing twice to George Walton Academy to be eliminated.

Upcoming Softball Games

Friday, Aug. 2

• Stratford @ Southwest Georgia Academy, 1 p.m. at Baconton Charter

• Stratford @ Citizens Christian Academy, 4 p.m. at Baconton Charter

Saturday, Aug. 3

• Stratford vs. Calvary Christian, 11 a.m. at Baconton Charter

• Stratford vs. ATCO, 1:30 p.m. at Baconton Charter

• ACE vs. Jeff Davis, 11 a.m. at ACE

• ACE vs. Mary Persons, 3 p.m. at ACE

Monday, Aug. 5

• ACE @ Crawford County, 6 p.m. 

Tuesday, Aug. 6

• Howard @ FPD, 5 p.m.

• Tattnall vs. George Walton Academy, 5 p.m.

• Stratford @ Gatewood, 4 p.m.

• CFCA vs. Flint River Academy, 5 p.m.

• Windsor vs. Crisp Academy, 5:30 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 8

• CFCA @ John Milledge Academy, 4:30 p.m.

• Windsor vs. Southland Academy, 4 p.m.

• ACE @ Veterans, 6:30 p.m.

• FPD @ Gatewood, 5 p.m.

• Tattnall @ Westfield School, 6 p.m.