CHESAPEAKE — Some years, picking the All-Tidewater Softball Player of the Year is a breeze — like last year, when Cammie Stuffel of Nansemond River established a state record for public schools with 18 home runs.
But the injury that sidelined Stuffel for this season created a void, and no fewer than five players moved to fill it. Grassfield sophomore Braelyn Bailey emerges as this season’s All-Tidewater Softball Player of the Year, but that doesn’t mean fans of Destiny Harris (Granby), Marin McGowan (Nansemond-Suffolk Academy), Tegan Gabrielse (Hickory) or Abby Adamek (Kellam) couldn’t make a good case for their favorite.
Their biographies listed in our All-Tidewater softball first team highlight their excellence in a season when the top seven in the 757Teamz Top 15 were closely matched. Hickory coach Shane Smith offered as good a reason as any why Bailey deserved top honors.
“She’s the best player on the best team in the best district,” said Smith, whose Hawks lost to Grassfield in what turned out to be a memorable race for the Southeastern District title.
Smith could also have mentioned Bailey’s flair for the dramatic, which was on vivid display in the Grizzlies’ 8-7 win over Hickory in their late-season showdown for the district lead and even more so in the district championship-clinching win over Great Bridge.
With the Grizzlies trailing Great Bridge by two runs, and two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Bailey hit a walk-off grand slam. The four runs gave the Grizzlies an 8-6 win and the district title while completing an unbeaten regular season (including a tie with private school state champion Nansemond-Suffolk).
“It’s a powerful feeling to do something great for your team,” said Bailey, the Grizzlies’ first All-Tidewater Softball Player of the Year since Morgan Murphy in 2018.
She came up big in a couple of ways in the win over Hickory in the previous game, starting with the three-run homer that gave the Grizzlies a six-run lead in the top of sixth. Hickory rallied and Bailey escaped in a most dramatic fashion.
With runners on second and third and two out in the bottom of the seventh, Gabrielse cracked what appeared to be a game-winning line drive for Hickory. But second baseman Cydney LaFon leaped high in the air to snag it and preserve the victory for Bailey and Grassfield.
“I breathed a sigh of relief and could not give (LaFon) enough hugs,” Bailey said.
More often than not, however, Bailey was the Grizzlies’ hero.
“She pitched against, and beat, some of the best teams in Virginia and North Carolina, and she had those last-minute home runs,” Grassfield coach Leroy Bohn said. “The whole team fed off of her and there’s no one I’d rather have in the pitching circle or at the plate with the game on the line.”
Statistics in both areas underscore Bailey’s excellence for the Class 6 Region A champs.
She had a 12-1 pitching record for the Grizzlies, who went 21-1-1, losing only to eventual state champion Osbourn Park in the Class 6 state quarterfinals. Hickory finished No. 1 in the 757Teamz rankings and Bailey’s seven wins against teams in the Top 15 included shutouts of Western Branch and Granby — the latter considered the best-hitting team in Hampton Roads.
“I was stronger (physically), but my biggest improvement (pitching) this year was that I was stronger mentally,” Bailey said.
She batted .534 with 31 RBIs and a 1.172 slugging percentage, buoyed by her 11 home runs that led Hampton Roads.
“You’ve got to have more confidence than the pitcher you’re facing,” Bailey said.
Bailey developed that confidence from long hours in batting cages working with her dad, Kirtis Bailey, and hitting coach Bobby Hoeft. That, and her ability to keep her cool in those dramatic moments, give her the small edge for All-Tidewater Softball Player of the Year over the aforementioned quartet of Harris, McGowan, Gabrielese and Adamek.
“It’s a great feeling because those girls worked hard and are good teammates and players,” Bailey said. “I’m proud of them, but I’m proud of myself, too, because I worked hard.”
All-Tidewater Softball Players of the Year
2024: Braelyn Bailey, Grassfield
2023: Cammie Stuffel, Nansemond River
2022: Madison Inscoe, Nansemond-Suffolk
2021: Madison Inscoe, Nansemond-Suffolk
2020: Season canceled (pandemic)
2019: Brook Cannon, Kellam
2018: Morgan Murphy, Grassfield
2017: Hanna Crist, Princess Anne
2016: Meaghan Barfield, First Colonial
2015: Meaghan Barfield, First Colonial
2014: Sydney Harless, Great Bridge
2013: Kayla Harris, Greenbrier Christian
2012: Krista Lewis, Hickory
2011: Amber Phillips, Hickory
2010: Sami Mignat, Ocean Lakes
2009: Kaitlynn Szczepanski, Great Bridge
2008: Jennifer Gniadek, Hickory
2007: Stephanie Kemp, Kellam
2006: Catelyn Slagle, Greenbrier Christian
2005: Mallory Mazur, Kempsville
2004: Mallory Mazur, Kempsville
2003: Amber Shifflett, Princess Anne
2002: Amber Straube, Princess Anne
2001: Ashley Loeback, Princess Anne
2000: Ginny Fletcher, Great Bridge
1999: Ginny Fletcher, Great Bridge
1998: Melissa Hirsch, Princess Anne
1997: Melissa Hirsch, Princess Anne
1996: Lisa Slingerland, Princess Anne
1995: Donna Self, Booker T. Washington
1994: Amy Hooks, Bayside
1993: Amy Hooks, Bayside
