‘Quiet dominance’ helps Majors lead Jags
The back-to-back losses in Montgomery still bother Maddie Majors.
They don’t just upset her; they anger her. They are now the fuel to the fire that she hopes will propel the Spain Park High School softball team to seal the deal in 2019. Last spring, the Jags rolled through the first three games of the Class 7A state tournament. But in the final series, they lost twice to Fairhope to finish as the runners-up for the second time in three years.
“It just makes me mad because we were there, we were undefeated [in the tournament],” Majors said.
Majors has been one of the key pieces to the Spain Park team that has advanced to the state tournament each of the last three years, placing second, third and then second again last season.
Those near misses at the state tournament have brought the team closer, according to Majors. With no seniors on the 2018 squad, the team chemistry will not require much adjusting. And she’s ready to eliminate the bad taste those losses have left.
“We’ve been through the experience of being in the championship game,” Majors said. “I’ve been in the state championship game twice. Maybe the third time is the charm.”
Majors has certainly done her part. The center fielder was named a first-team All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association after her junior season, in which she hit for a .477 average as the Jags’ leadoff hitter. She racked up 73 hits, hit nine home runs and drove in 47 runs as well, while only striking out five times all year.
“Maddie is a dream player and teammate,” said Spain Park head coach CJ Hawkins. “She’s a leader on and off the field. She’s got a quiet dominance. She’s consistent and dependable and a joy to coach.”
That season came on the heels of her sophomore year in 2017, when she was a second-team All-American and racked up 87 hits while playing first base. Her consistent production over the course of her career was enough to be selected to the North-South All-Star Game, which featured nearly 40 of the top rising seniors in the state.
A pair of games was played between the North and South teams on July 17 at Montgomery’s Lagoon Park. The South team won the first game, 3-0, before the North team rallied to win the second game, 4-3, on a walk-off home run from Hatton’s Emma Latham. Majors said it was “an honor” to represent Spain Park in the game.
Majors has been on the varsity team at Spain Park since her seventh-grade year, and she fondly remembers the days of playing with future Division I college players like MK Bonamy (Notre Dame), Mary Katherine Tedder (Texas), Jenna Olszewski (UAB), Julianna Cross (Samford) and a few others. She committed to Auburn her freshman year and is looking forward to playing for the Tigers.
“I visited a bunch of campuses but when I got to Auburn, I fell in love with the environment and the atmosphere,” Majors said.
Majors wants to help lead the Spain Park program to the one thing it has yet to achieve — a state title — but her coach believes she will bring the same attitude every day, regardless of the situation.
“She’s fun to coach, she really likes her teammates and she loves her school and I think she’s going to make the most of it,” Hawkins said. “And she’s going to try to help her team with some unfinished business.”