CHOCOWINITY — It was the middle of February and Unity Christian Academy was still working on getting a softball team off the ground. Most teams in the area already had their rosters set and were on the field practicing before their season openers.

They managed to put together a team, thanks to a lot of help from player Grace Rose. She put in her fair share of work before the team ever played its first game and went on to have an outstanding season, too.

“There was a time where I didn’t think that it was going to happen,” coach Ashley Harris said. “Grace deserves a lot of credit for that. She was captain, too. … The challenges were just putting a team together.”

It was an inexperienced team, but a team nonetheless. Only three of the Lady Warriors had significant varsity softball experience and Sarah Doughtie was the team’s lone senior.

“The middle schoolers really stepped up and helped us a lot, especially after Macy (Main) got hurt,” Harris said. “We were pitching 11 year olds. We played Mattamuskeet the first game after she got hurt. After four innings, we were up by 10 runs and they couldn’t believe it.”

Introducing girls to the game was one of the highlights of the season for the more experienced Lady Warriors.

“(I liked) being able to play with the girls that I know and getting to play with first timers,” said Abby Harbrige. “I enjoyed helping them out. … We had two or three first timers and they did amazing.”

“I liked being able to play with different age ranges,” Rose added. “We had girls from 11 to 18 years old. It was really fun having the different personalities from the younger kids and the more mature, older girls stepping up and coaching them along. We tried to help them as much as we could. … The younger girls really stepped up and did what they needed to do to be a part of a varsity team.”

Harris managed to put together a 14-game varsity schedule. The team, comprised of players as young as 11 years old, was put to the test. Unity finished its first campaign with a 5-9 record. It’s an impressive mark for a startup team, especially considering that the Lady Warriors lost Main, their freshman ace, halfway through the season.

Even though she missed the latter half of the season, Main had a great time being a part of the team. She goes to Washington Montessori Public Charter School and wouldn’t have had a team to play for if not for the Lady Warriors.

“(I liked) being able to play on a softball team because I don’t go to Unity Christian,” Main said. “Meeting all the girls, laughing and having a really great time. I knew Abby from my earlier softball experiences, but it was great meeting Grace and some of the other girls. It was really fun.”

Now that Unity has overcome all the hurdles with starting a team and managed to find a decent amount of success, there’s a lot of promise for next year. Harris said that seven of the Lady Warriors will play 12U all-star softball for Chocowinity.

“I’m ready to roll. The worst part about next season is that it’s eight months away,” Harris laughed. “We’ve got big numbers, looks like, for next year. We’re going to try and have two teams: a middle school junior varsity team for the younger girls to play on and varsity. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I can’t wait.”

Harris can be reached at 252-975-6956 for information about scheduling games and joining the Lady Warriors.