Small but mighty: West Lincoln Optimist Lady Rebels ‘SweeTees’ head to the World Series

“This is our all-star team, and it was put together around the first of June,” Timothy Varnadoe, the head coach said. “They were selected off their regular season team to make the all-star team.”

The girls competed at the state tournament in Troy which is a double elimination game. They took on Central Columbus first and were defeated by one run in the fifth inning. 

After their first loss, the coaches talked through some things that the team needed to improve on and what they did right. This was the first game that this newly formed team had played together.

“We told the girls that it was time to step up,” Varnadoe said. “We told them if they didn’t win this game, we’d go home, and nobody wanted to go home. We had to start catching the ball and getting it to the infield. We supported them and gave them the best motivation that we could.”

After the first game, Varnadoe added, the girls started to bond and trust each other, both on and off the field. The weather wasn’t exactly cooperative either. When they played Cherryville, it was raining. On Monday it was smoldering hot. 

The loss knocked them down into the loser’s bracket where they played Montgomery County, whom they run ruled in the fifth inning. Then they took on Cherryville who’d also been knocked into the loser’s bracket by Central Columbus. During the Cherryville game, the West Lincoln Optimist Lady Rebels had a triple play that turned the game in their favor. They trounced Cherryville and headed back out to play the Central Columbus team that hadn’t been beaten yet.

West Lincoln had to beat them twice in order to win the state championship. This tough little team prevailed.

Last year, Varnadoe has a five-year-old daughter, Cayleb Grace, who wanted to play softball. Her first season was last spring and that’s when he started coaching. 

“She plays third base,” he said. “I’m a ‘girl dad’ and have three daughters. I’m expecting my first son next month. I feel like I know how to speak to girls and get through what I need to get it done. It’s different coaching a boy to a girl. The other coaches are the same – they pretty much all have girls. We have a great group of parents too that lets us coach their kids as if they’re our own. Everyone is phenomenal.”

“I had faith in this team and knew they could do it,” Varnadoe said. “When you have five- and six-year-old little girls who practice for two hours solid and want to learn and get better. This group of girls is going to be tough to beat when they get into middle and high school, and they’ll all be staying together.” 

The West Lincoln Optimist program is nonprofit and takes great pride in putting the coaches in place to coach the kids, Varnadoe said. It’s all volunteer work. The park itself has been improved a lot over the last couple of years. 

The World Series will be held in Cochran, Georgia the end of July. The girls’ first game will be on July 30 against the host team.

“I feel like we can go down there and make some noise and be competitive,” Varnadoe said. “I’m describing six-year-olds, but they have determination and heart and don’t like losing. We preach that practice makes perfect and we put the time and effort in. We’re here to play ball.”

Team members include

Oakleigh Hullette

Brooklyn Hefner

Harper White

Jayci Randall

Cayleb Grace Varnadoe

Harper Sain

Tinsley Schronce

Paislie Pearson

Edan Gantt

Ruthie Hammonds

Addison Woody

Sydney Crowder

Head coach and manager is Timothy Varnadoe, Ashley Hullette, Joshua Schronce and Mark Pearson are coaches. Team mom is Abby Varnadoe