Massey's story at East Webster produces very successful script
There couldn't have been a much better script written for Liz Massey's story at East Webster.
It has been six years since the Lady Wolverines last played in the Class 2A state championship series and Massey has been working hard to find her own place in the great history of East Webster softball. This year, she cemented what was already a fantastic legacy.
Shortly after Bailie Springfield's career ended in the state championship series in 2016, Massey was the player that former coach Lee Berryhill turned to when she was in seventh grade. Six years of production, many wins and a state championship later, she made her own name.
“I definitely had big shoes to fill, but I knew my abilities and knew that I could keep it going,” Massey said. “Growing up, I pitched every day. I worked and worked. You can't get where our team is without working. It was challenging, but rewarding. We had just lost a lot of players and were a young team, but we made it work.”
First year East Webster head coach John Harris has coached softball long enough to know that a team is only going to go as far as the pitcher goes. He knew when he arrived that he had a good one in the circle and that was one area that he wouldn't have to worry about.
It wasn't just what he had seen and heard in past years. Harris saw the work ethic first hand.
“It just made life easier on everybody even from a game plan perspective,” Harris said. “You could take your focus as a coach elsewhere in areas you knew you were coaching because you knew you didn't have to worry about that.
“She was a hard worker. She came to work every single day. You could tell just how consistent she was by how hard she worked.”
It was a strong junior season for Massey last year. The Lady Wolverines went 24-7 with another Class 2A, Region 2 title and Massey was the Player of the Year in the Starkville Daily News area.
In that season, East Webster came up short in the playoffs for a fifth-straight year. A program that has grown accustomed to competing for state titles hadn't been to the big game since 2016. Massey set out to change that.
This season, the senior pitcher threw 189.1 innings. She struck out 180 batters and walked just 34 with a 2.85 earned run average. In the state championship series, Massey was especially strong pitching the Lady Wolverines to two run-rule wins with 11 frames, just two runs, one walk and eight strikeouts.
Ending her career in Cumberland on that note couldn't have been any better.
“That was everything that we've worked for our whole lives,” Massey said. “That was the goal that we always had and we accomplished it. My team is absolutely phenomenal. I trust them 100% to make the play behind me and they did.”
So what's next for Massey? More softball for one.
Next season the big time pitcher will be heading up the road to Goodman to play at Holmes Community College for legendary coach Trae Embry. After building a successful program at Eupora and one of the best in the country at Neshoba Central, Embry is trying to do the same thing for the Lady Bulldogs.
He's trusted in Massey to be one of the players to help change the culture there and bring her winning attitude to make a change.
“I'm ecstatic,” Massey said. “I think we're going to do great things. The pitching staff is great there and we're all going to compete and make each other better. I'm ready for the next challenge.”