Carolina Academy Softball Wins SCISA AA State Title
By David Shelton
Senior Writer
Lake City – Having led five teams to a state championship during his tenure as the softball coach at Carolina Academy, Scotty Phillips knows a good team when he sees one.
Phillips felt early on in the 2025 season that his team had a chance to win big this spring. The Lady Bobcats did just that.
Carolina Academy swept Dorchester Academy in two games to earn their sixth state title under Phillips. The Lady Bobcats finished with a 23-8 record, winning their last five games.
“We had some bumps along the way and nothing was easy before spring break,” Phillips said. “We lost a game to Cheraw and it was really bad. I kind of went off on them after that game. I was trying to shake them up, make them understand that we were not where we needed to be. If we wanted to win a state title, we had to turn it around.”
The rant, that Phillips said brought tears to the players eyes, as well as some parents, worked like a charm.
Carolina Academy won game one of the championship series with Dorchester in dramatic fashion. The Lady Bobcats scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to win the game, 8-6, on a walk-off double by freshman Paisley Coker. This came after eighth-grader Natalie Braveboy tied the game with a homerun. Coker, pitcher Raylee Frye and freshman Ella Ham all had two RBIs in the win.
“We don’t win game two had we lost game one,” Phillips said. “I felt like the loss the way it happened sort of took the life out of Dorchester. Had we lost, I think that would have been us.”
Carolina won game two, 5-2, and was in control from the start. Braveboy had two hits and Savannah McCutcheon had two RBIs.
“This was a fun team to coach,” the coach said. “They’re a competitive group, love the game. I had a good time with these girls.”
Junior catcher Carly Ann Smith finished as the team’s leading hitter with a .481 batting average. Smith had 37 hits and 23 RBIs but was most effective behind dish.
“She’s the best catcher I’ve ever had,” Phillips said. “She’s a gamer.”
Frye, a junior, was the team’s top pitcher, posting a 2.25 earned run average. She also batted .452 with 38 hits and 37 RBIs, belting eight homeruns.
Ham batted .364 with 27 RBIs and Coker hit .303 with 13 RBIs.
Phillips did not have any seniors on the roster this spring and Carolina will be a strong favorite to repeat next year. While Phillips admits to be nearing the end of his career, he fully plans to return next season.
“Hard to leave this group,” he said. “I don’t look too far ahead. Maybe we can win another but I ain’t taking anything for granted. We will work just as hard next year.”
The Carolina Academy golf team nearly won a state championship, finishing as the runner-up in the AA state tournament.
Blanding Franks was low scorer for the Bobcats, shooting 149 over 36 holes. Thomas McDaniel shot 165 and Cam Porter shot 174. Rounding out the scoring was Drake Morris with a 182.
