Helena softball coach Mark Sanders’ mornings look a little different than his colleagues.
A resident of Jacksonville, the longtime middle school softball coach who is now leading the varsity program makes a 2-hour commute to and from Helena daily to get to work.
“I think I’ve driven almost 500,000 miles in those 8 years,” he said.
When he felt the ice-cold water on his back and his players shouting in celebration of a championship on Friday, it reminded him of what makes all of those miles worth it.
Helena held off Saraland with a 5-3 victory in the Class 6A softball championship on Friday, giving the Huskies their first softball championship in program history.
Friday’s win also completed a clean sweep of the state tournament for Helena, which also notched wins over Rehobeth, Hartselle and a previous victory over Saraland on Thursday.
“I’m so happy for our players and our fans, our parents, we have such great support in Helena,” the coach said. “I’ve been there for 25 years, working with softball, mostly as a middle school coach. I’ve been a lifetime middle school coach. Two years ago, Miss Bahr asked me to come up and coach the high school team, and it was a dream come true.
“To be in one community for all those years that long, and be able to experience this, I really can’t describe it.”
Sanders prided his team for overcoming the challenges that came with a tough state tournament run after Helena (35-15-2) finished as the No. 2 qualifier in the Central Regional behind Brookwood.
The coach said his squad played its “best ball of the season” during this year’s state tournament run.
“They’re such a great bunch of kids,” Sanders said. “We ask them every day to do three things. We ask them to love each other unconditionally, we ask them to have fun playing the game, and we ask them to want it more than their opponents.
“They did those three things for this entire week, and that’s what made the difference.”
The victory was backed by another impressive pitching performance from Carrington Schiefer, who claimed tournament MVP honors.
Along with pitching 10 innings against Hartselle and striking out 6 batters on Thursday, she threw a complete game in the championship victory against Saraland on Friday. She also went 9-for-16 at the plate for the Huskies in the tournament.
“That was so much fun,” said Schiefer, a junior committed to play at Gadsden State Community College. “I love pitching for this team so much.”
Saraland (39-14-1) got a pair of hits each from Emily Claire Ready and South Alabama signee Gracie Dees, with Dees, Kori Simmons and Bryleigh Goff both driving in a run each for the Spartans.
Claire Gortney crossed home plate twice for Helena to lead the team while Schiefer went 3-for-4 in the victory.
“These seniors are really happy about this, and we’re excited,” the tournament MVP said.
When asked about the seniors that will be graduating — Destiny Brashears, Marlee Parsons, Addison Draiss and Gracie Storey — Sanders knew when the group was in middle school that the veterans would be capable of bringing home a championship.
“I knew their heart, I knew their leadership abilities,” he said. “We grew a lot this year. We grew a lot this year from the beginning, and that’s what I really try to do each year, is just help the kids grow, emotionally, spiritually, mentally, physically. I feel like this was the greatest year of growth that we had.
“I’m just so honored to be a part of it. I’m just a tiny part of this, but I feel so honored to be a part of it.”