TIFTON — One year after stepping down at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Jen Walls is a head softball coach again. Last week, Walls was named Tift County’s new softball leader, taking over from Taylor Barber.
Walls reported a good first day of practice Monday. She knows the squad as she was a Tift softball assistant in 2023, also helping out with soccer.
Their familiarity will help as the Lady Devils face challenges this year.
Tift remains in Region 1-6A for the next two years, but with a different lineup of schools. Camden County, Colquitt County and Lowndes were in their region two years ago. For Valdosta, it’s been nearly a decade since they played. Richmond Hill is a newcomer to the schedule.
Walls, however, has only seen Colquitt, whom Tift played in the regular season last year. The same holds true for the Lady Devils. They will have no seniors this year.
The first day of practice allowed Walls to communicate her goals. Practices are adapted from her days at ABAC. With the Fillies, Walls won the GCAA championship in 2019. She said she will be bringing over “what was successful for us at the college level.”
Repetition is big for Walls at practice. For example, she said they may get 30-40 ground balls at practice, all in preparation to make the 1-2 they will see in a game be quite easy.
Tift was set to play an intrasquad scrimmage this week, highlighting its depth in the circle. Four or five players will pitch and hitters will see every one of them. Each pitcher has her own style and Walls said hitters will have to adjust to each.
“They’re seeing five different arms, five different pitchers, five different speeds,” she said. “In theory, if we face a team that swaps out pitchers we’ll be able to adjust a lot better as a hitter to different arms.”
At some schools, the lack of seniors would indicate inexperience. Not so with the Lady Devils.
Four seniors finished out the 2023 campaign. With no juniors, that meant freshmen and sophomores filled the other five positions on the field.
“We’re young, but we have so much talent,” Walls said. That includes the freshmen in the program.
“It’s scary to think where these juniors are going to be by their senior year,” she said. They’ve already been turning heads. Lily Robinson earned first team All-Region last year. Ella Bruce was a second team pick.
Robinson enters her third year starting in the circle. Walls sees Robinson’s development into the staff’s veteran, which will help with the other hurlers.
The ultimate goal, of course, is Columbus and the Class 6A state tournament. “That should be everybody’s motivation going into the season,” said Walls. Tift came oh so close two years ago, making it to the finals of a super regional at South Effingham.
“My goal is for them to buy in,” Walls said. “Buy into change, buy into a new structure.”
Though still learning the ins and outs of the current Region 1-6A, from what Walls has already heard, the championship could be wide open.
Lowndes won the 1-7A crown, but lost several key players to graduation, including outstanding pitcher Camden Anders. Colquitt, second in the region, also saw some of its stars graduate. They were the only two teams above .500.
Tift will have a scrimmage against Thomas County Central at the end of July, then move into its regular season. The first regular season game is to be Aug. 6 against Cairo.