Buford softball adds to history with repeat state championship

• By David Friedlander Staff Correspondent
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  • Oct 29, 2023 Updated May 6, 2024
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  • Buford added some history to the legacy of its softball program, and made some more during Championship Saturday at the 2023 GHSA State Softball Championship Tournament.

    The Wolves’ 9-1 victory over East Coweta in the Class AAAAAAA finals at the stadium field of the South Commons Softball Complex in Columbus notched one more to the program’s state record with its 12th state title.

    The win also capped a special season, with the Wolves running the table to finish a perfect 32-0, the first Buford softball team to go an entire season without a loss. The dominant 2023 team won 20 of its 32 games by shutout and only six of its 32 games went the full seven innings or longer — the other 26 were called early by the run rule.

    That said, Buford coach Trent Adams said it may take awhile for him, his staff and the players for those accomplishments to fully sink in, and that everyone is currently just reveling in yet another state championship.

    “(State championships) are all special,” said Adams, whose Wolves have now won 39 straight games dating back to last year’s state championship team. “It was a special group of seniors year, for sure, but yeah, they’re all different. You’ve got a different group of seniors and different things like that. Anytime you can win down in Columbus, it’s always special.

    “(Finishing undefeated has) definitely not sunk in yet. It was a special season for these seniors to go out the way they did was awesome because they led on the field, as well as in the locker room.”

    The undefeated season nearly came to an end in Friday’s winner’s bracket final before Buford came back from an early deficit to score an extra-inning 3-2 win over East Coweta on Madison Pickens’ solo home run in the top of the eighth.

    In Saturday’s rematch with the Indians in the title game, the Wolves wasted no time flexing their muscles, with of those seniors that Adams mentioned leading the way.

    Adriana Martinez blasted a two-run homer in the bottom of the first, and sophomore Kadyn Gabrels added an RBI single for a quick 3-0 Buford lead.

    “We kind of had a little better approaches at the plate (Saturday),” Adams said. “We were a little more patient and tried to work the count in our favor to a hitting count. We saw the ball well and squared up a couple of balls. Our seniors did a great job, … so it was special for those girls.

    “It was a battle on Friday night. It’s always a battle in Columbus. That was a huge, huge win for us to night have to play at 11 (on Saturday morning), and then win back-to-back games. So, it was a big shot in the arm for us.”

    After Jada Savage got one of those runs back in the top of the second to get East Coweta on the board, Martinez had an answer with her second homer of the game, a solo shot, in the bottom of the inning to extend the lead to 4-1.

    That was all that pitcher Emma Grace Williams would need, as the senior right-hander allowed just five hits and one earned run with three strikeouts over five innings to get the win in the circle.

    But Buford took no chances and added on runs in the fourth on a solo homer by Mackenzie Pickens and an RBI single by Tavye Borders to make the score 6-1.

    Pickens then went back-to-back with her twin sister Madison for homers in the fifth to end the game on the run rule and clinch the historic title for the Wolves.

    Martinez and McKenzie Pickens each finished the game 3-for-3, with Martinez adding the double to the two homers and three RBIs, while Pickens also had a homer and drove in a pair of runs.

    Madison Pickens chipped in her 20th homer of the season and drove in two runs, while Caroline Stanton went 2-for-2 and Borders and Gabrels also chipped in a hit and an RBI apiece.

    Izzy Rettiger also had a hit, as the Wolves finished with 12 hits for the day.

    Buford’s offense broke numerous school team records this season, including runs per game (10.5), batting average (.460), on-base percentage (.535), slugging percentage (.898), home runs (78) and doubles (91).

    The pitching staff broke team marks for the fewest runs allowed per game (0.84), strikeouts per game (10.81) and ERA (0.86) — the ERA figure is the lowest since the pitching distance moved from 40 to 43 feet in 2009.