CHOCOWINITY — Taylor Langley and Gracie Warren played their last games in a Southside softball uniform in last week’s 12-2 second-round elimination at the hands of East Columbus.

Two days prior, though, Langley and Warren reaped the benefits of years of hard work. The Lady Seahawks hosted Granville Central in the first round. Each notched a run and an RBI as Southside won, 9-5, to advance to that aforementioned second-round matchup.

It marked the first time in their Southside softball careers that the team won a postseason game. It was tangible proof of the foundation for success that the two Lady Seahawk captains helped established.

“It felt good. It felt like we actually did something as a team together,” Langley said. “A lot of sweat and tears went into it. Working as a team is hard. Sometimes we just don’t come together, but we did and we worked hard for it.”

Warren added, “I played on this team for four years and we’ve never done this well. This was our best year.”

On top of the playoff win, Warren and Langley both reflected fondly on their April 28 win at Pamlico County. It was the first time in their time at Southside that they beat the Lady Hurricanes.

“It was the best feeling in the world. Then, our first playoff win, that was great,” Warren said. “It was surprising. It just felt good. It kind of made me sad because we didn’t do all that in the previous years, but it felt good to do that in my senior year.”

Even though it took until their final seasons to accomplish those feats, Warren and Langley both said they take pride in the way the program has progressed over their four years.

“Once you build them up and they get to their senior years, you like to see them do well,” coach Milton Ruffin said. Ruffin began coaching the team when Langley and Warren were sophomores. “Gracie and Taylor, they made my job easier this year. They worked hard and communicated with the team. They did a great job for the team. They built a foundation for the rest of the girls to follow next year.”

Warren and Langley combined for 26 runs and 30 RBI this season. They physically added a lot to the team, but to contribute what they did from a leadership standpoint was a challenge. Warren took a lot of college classes, so she didn’t have the luxury of spending much time in school with her co-captain or the rest of the team.

“I only ever saw (Warren) at practice,” Langley said. “I knew we had to come together then or we weren’t going to come together at all. We had to talk because the girls weren’t going to listen to us unless we told them, ‘This is what we have to do. We’ve got to work together.’”

Warren added, “It was pretty difficult. Just making sure I’m at practice, communicating and working as a team. Rather than as their captain, I tried to be on their level, as well. Sometimes it made it a little more difficult.”

They overcame it, and the Lady Seahawks, as a whole, put together their most memorable season in some time. A strong contingent of rising seniors is set to return next season. Combine that with the pitcher-catcher duo of Alyssa McLawhorn and Maggie Craig heading into their juniors seasons, and Southside is in a good position to continue building toward something even more special.

“The expectations get even higher for the girls next year,” Ruffin said. “We have a lot of returning players. The expectations are higher and the bar has been set. … (Warren and Langley) taught them to work together. You can’t worry about yourself. Everybody has to go out there and communicate. They set that example.”