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Pace Ace Hannah DeMarcus Named Florida’s Miss Softball as Dairy Farmers Awards Roll In

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4 months ago

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Florida’s biggest softball honor is staying in Pace. Junior pitcher Hannah DeMarcus was named the Florida Dairy Farmers 2026 Miss Softball, announced June 10 after voting by a statewide panel of coaches and media. DeMarcus won with 128 points and nine of 18 first-place votes, ahead of Trenton’s Addison Allaire, the 2026 Florida Gatorade Player of the Year, who received 80 points.

The Auburn commit went 20-2 with a 0.90 ERA and 315 strikeouts in 155⅔ innings while leading Pace to the Class 6A state title, and she was even better in the postseason: 7-0 with a 0.62 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 45 innings. She was also named Florida’s MaxPreps Player of the Year on June 4, and in two varsity seasons she is 43-5 with a 0.59 ERA and 733 strikeouts in 330⅔ innings.

In Class 5A, Winter Springs junior catcher Lauren Daugherty, a University of Kentucky commit, was named Player of the Year after hitting.389 with 11 doubles, six home runs and 33 RBIs — and she did not commit an error all season, recording 130 putouts and six assists while no opposing runner attempted a steal against her. Daugherty led Winter Springs (24-6) to its second straight Class 5A state championship, a 6-0 win over Niceville in the final, and Farrah Gordon was named 5A Coach of the Year.

In Class 7A, Hagerty freshman shortstop Mattingly Klein was named Player of the Year after batting.500 (47-for-94) with eight doubles, a triple, six home runs, 40 runs scored, 26 RBIs and 13 stolen bases while striking out only six times. Klein helped Hagerty (27-4) win the school’s first-ever softball state championship, 2-0 over Western in the 7A final, and Hagerty’s Tom Kreahling was named 7A Coach of the Year.

The overall Dairy Farmers Coach of the Year was Columbia’s Joe Saucier, who in his second season led Columbia to a 29-3 record and the Class 4A title, the school’s first since 2013. Saucier won with 100 points, ahead of Pace’s Lexi Alexander at 81.

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Buford Rolls Into Columbus: Wolves Outscore Playoff Foes 58-2 on the Road to the GHSA 7A Elite Eight

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2 days ago

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October 23, 2026

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Buford is rolling into Columbus. The Gwinnett County, Atlanta-metro power takes a 26-3 record into the GHSA Class 7A Elite Eight after sweeping its first two playoff rounds and outscoring opponents 58-2 across four postseason games, three of them shutouts. The only runs Buford has allowed all postseason came in a single game, the 10-2 second-round opener against Seckinger.

The Wolves opened with 17-0 and 16-0 wins over Rockdale County, then beat Seckinger 10-2 and 15-0 to clinch their return to Columbus. LG Goldin hit her 10th home run of the season in the second-round opener, Ella Pierce Hensley added her eighth homer, and Ansley Kehren and Taylor Sawyer each drove in three runs in the clincher. Taylor Jackson earned both pitching victories against Seckinger to improve to 11-2. Buford scored at least 10 runs in every one of the four games.

Buford opens the double-elimination Elite Eight against Richmond Hill on Wednesday, October 28, at 3:30 p.m. on Field 5 at the South Commons Softball Complex, with the tournament running October 28-31. Richmond Hill, the Region 1-7A champion, is back in Columbus for the second straight season after sweeping Etowah and outlasting Dacula in three games, clinching that series 4-2 behind Delaney McDonald’s two-run home run.

Wednesday’s winner advances to face North Paulding or Northgate on Thursday, October 29, at 2:45 p.m. on Field 3, while the losing teams meet Thursday at 7:15 p.m. on Field 5 in an elimination game. Buford’s path to a state title starts with a Richmond Hill team that has already survived one three-game series this postseason.

The Columbus finals cap a Georgia season that began August 1, with state champions crowned October 28-31 at South Commons across the GHSA’s seven public divisions, 1A through 7A, and one private division. Buford will try to turn the bracket’s most dominant start into the last trophy of the Georgia season.

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