The Gray Collegiate War Eagles are the 2025 Class 4A Lower State Champions following a 13-0 win over the South Florence Bruins.
The Gray Collegiate War Eagles advanced to the 4A softball state championship series by scoring nine runs in the first two innings en route to a 13-0 win over the South Florence Bruins in five innings Wednesday, May 21.
“The girls work real hard every day,” Gray Collegiate head coach Doug Frye said. “We have a lot of talent here. We have a good team. They have a good team over there, too. We played some good teams down the stretch. I hope it has us ready for the next series. It’s a two-game season now.”
This will be Gray’s second straight trip to the state championship series. Last season, the War Eagles swept the Marion Swamp Foxes to claim the 2A title. This year, Gray will face the York Cougars in the 4A series.
South Florence came into Wednesday’s contest having played four games in five days, including the Upper State final.
The War Eagles set the tone in the bottom of the first. Aspen Boulware drew a leadoff walk and found her way around the bases after stealing second and advancing to third on a wild pitch. A ground out by Kaylan Boudreau scored Boulware and the floodgates opened. Singles by Kaley Anderson and Makenzie Sease put two on with one out. Then Na’Veah Matthews doubled to left field, scoring courtesy runner Madison Bumgarner and increasing the Gray lead to 2-0. Later in the inning, Maliah Wright singled scoring Sease as the War Eagles’ lead grew to 3-0. Matthews would score prior to Wright being tagged out at second as Gray held a 4-0 lead after one inning.
War Eagles pitcher Peyton Hendrix, who threw a complete game giving up two hits while striking out five.
“Peyton got us to the state championship last year,” Frye said. “Peyton is a stud on the mound. She dominates the strike zone. We have a great defense. She moves the ball. She spins it. She does a great job on the mound and she’s a bulldog.”
The War Eagles bats came to the plate in the bottom half of the second ready to add more runs. Walks to Boudreau and Braelyn Triplett and a single by Boulware loaded the bases with one out. Anderson then singled to center field scoring Triplett and Boulware as Gray led 6-0. Boudreau would score a little later as Sease singled to center field to bring in the War Eagles’ seventh run of the game. Matthews reached on an error to load the bases with two outs. Hendrix helped herself out with a single to right field, scoring Anderson and putting Gray ahead 9-0.
“We talked about getting started well, and Boulware usually starts us off well,” Frye said. “We lost a game to Gilbert earlier in the year and we chased a lot of bad pitches. We really worked hard on being disciplined and knowing what to swing at. I think as a team we’ve done a very good job at being disciplined and not chasing bad stuff, getting good pitches, laying off stuff, and I think that’s the difference. We’ve got hitting one through 12. We can hit. It’s about being patient and not chasing stuff.”
The War Eagles added a run in the third when Boudreau singled to score Boulware and give Gray a 10-0 lead.
Then in the fourth the War Eagles plated three more runs when Anderson and Sease singled to put two on with one out. Maddox Long then blasted a three-run home run over the center field fence to set the final score.
Maddox went 1-for-1 for Gray with three RBIs. Anderson was 3-for-3 with two RBIs. Boudreau went 1-for-2 with two RBIs. Sease went 3-for-3 with an RBI; and Matthews, Hendrix, and Wright each went 1-for-2 with an RBI.
The first game of the 4A softball championship series is scheduled for Tuesday, May 27 at Gray. York will host Game 2 Wednesday, May 28. A third game, if necessary, will be Friday, May 30.
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