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By Brian Pitts
Davie Enterprise Record

Reagan took a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh inning, but Addie Brown and Davie’s softball team had their own dreams in a blockbuster CPC game on March 18.
With the score tied in the bottom of the seventh, Brown blasted a walk-off grand slam to give the War Eagles a scintillating 7-3 win over the visiting Raiders, and everyone at the game knew they’d been part of a moment.
“There’s been some big moments since I’ve been here, but I have never been a part of a walk-off home run, especially a grand slam,” coach Nathan Handy said. “It just so happened our baseball team showed up in the seventh inning. They brought more fans to make it an even bigger moment for everybody, and especially for Addie. Her dad (Donnie) was on top of the chain-link fence straddling it. He was a little bit excited.”
When the day began, there was a three-way tie for first place. When it ended, Davie and West Forsyth were sharing first at 4-0. The Raiders, who had smothered seven opponents by an aggregate score of 62-16, lost for the first time in eight games and slipped to 2-1 in the league.
It was a classic battle that saw Reagan draw first blood. After three scoreless innings, Rylee Wilson led off the top of the fourth with a double and Lilah Clayman followed with a single as the visitors grabbed a stunning 2-0 lead against Davie’s star pitcher, Riley Potts.
The first offensive heroics for Davie came from Jadyn Davis in the fifth. Reagan opened the door by committing an error in right field that allowed Carleigh Croom to reach base. The beastly Davis followed with a two-run homer to center. Just like that, it was 2-2 after Davie had struck out 11 times in the first four innings against Reagan pitcher Caycee Wilson.
“She’s been doing that for us for three years,” Handy said of J. Davis. “She’s one of the most dangerous hitters in the CPC. (On her third-inning single off the fence), that ball missed being a home run by maybe six inches. I mean, Jadyn creamed it. She hit it so hard that she could not get to second. It was at the fence in no time.”
It was an emotional rollercoaster. The Raiders scratched out a tiebreaking run in the top of the seventh on a walk, sac bunt and single. But Potts limited the damage by stranding two runners.
The War Eagles’ backs were against the wall in the bottom of the seventh. Raegan Davis sparked the 11th-hour rally with a fullcount walk against reliever Rylee Wilson, who replaced her sister in the circle after C. Wilson had racked up 13 strikeouts – against one walk – in six innings.
“The starter was mowing us down,” Handy said. “They made a switch and it worked out for us. It was a great at-bat (by R. Davis). I told (Raegan): ‘Even though you struck out twice, that walk was the biggest moment of the game.’ That gave us a base runner and put pressure on their pitcher and their defense. Sometimes it’s not about the big hit. Sometimes it’s about finding a way on base.”
Delaney Parsons pushed the tying run into scoring position with a bunt and Croom reached on another error in right field, the dropped ball allowing Croom to race all the way to third as Davie tied the game at 3 with only one out.
“Carleigh put the ball in play and you never know what’s going to happen,” Handy said. “The ball went to the fence.”
There was no way the Raiders were pitching to J. Davis, so they intentionally walked her to put runners at the corners. Then Raelyn Lankford drew a tense walk to load the bases.
“With a fullcount, Raelyn fouled a ball off,” Handy said. “Raelyn is a very disciplined batter and she knew the moment in the game – take the bag if they’re going to give it to us.”
The error and walks set up the heartstopping at-bat by Brown, who fell behind 0-2 in the count. She took ball one. She fouled one off to stay alive. He took ball two. Then she delivered an uppercut punch with a home run to opposite field. It’s a memory the sophomore will be telling friends, family and eventually her grandchildren decades from now.
“I could tell Addie was a little bit nervous, so I called time after the first or second pitch,” Handy said. “I said: ‘You have been in so many big travel ballgames. This is just another game. Don’t worry about what’s going on around you. You’ve got this.’ She fouled off a couple of pitches to get to the pitch that she wanted. It was an outside pitch and she took it backside. It was a special night for Addie and for our whole team in a big CPC game.”
J. Davis went 3 for 3 with her second homer of the season and jacked her gaudy average to .520. Brown’s second hit of the game and second long ball of the season gave her the team’s RBI lead at 11 (Landry Parsons also has 11).
But Potts was also a big part of the win as she finished with a five-hitter, one walk and eight Ks.
“Riley is doing a great job hitting her spots and our defense is playing solid,” Handy said. “There were a few hard-hit balls, but Riley’s been phenomenal this year. I can’t say enough about her.”
Davie 17, Tabor 2
Three days later, Davie broke visiting Mt. Tabor like a twig for the 39th consecutive time in the series.
Brenna Altiers homered as the War Eagles (9-1 overall, 5-0 CPC) rolled to the greatest start in 24 years (the 2001 team started 20-1). They are riding a nine-game winning streak, matching the streak from 2024. In case you’re wondering, the longest win streak in Davie fast-pitch history is 14 from 2001.
Lankford pitched all three innings and struck out six as the Spartans tumbled to 1-3.