James signs on with Georgia Southwestern
Almost exactly one year to the day that she gave a verbal commitment, Ridgeland senior second baseman Grayson “Cadillac” James put her signature on a letter of intent to continue her softball career at Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus.
James made it official during a ceremony at the high school this past Wednesday.
James followed up her junior season with a solid all-around final season for the Lady Panthers. She batted .294 with eight doubles, 12 RBIS, 18 runs scored and was a defensive standout. She was named All-region (6-AAAA) honorable mention and helped the Black-and-white get back to the Class AAAA state tournament.
“It feels great,” she said of her signing day. “For a long time, I’ve wanted to play softball in college. My freshman year, when I tore my knee, I was very upset, but I was determined to play and, now, here I am.”
She said the coaching at Georgia Southwestern was one of the biggest reasons she chose the school.
“It feels like a family down there and it feels like another home,” she explained, adding that she would miss all the friends she made at Ridgeland. “I plan to bring my heart and work ethic. I’ll play wherever they want me to play.”
Ridgeland head coach Richie Wood said that GSW was getting “one of the greatest young ladies on Earth.”
“She’s a super kid,” Wood began. “She works hard and she’s very dedicated. They’re getting one heck of a person and she’s also one great little ball player. Defensively, she made some phenomenal plays for us over the years, including one against Marist in the state playoffs when she gunned down a girl out at home to preserve our 2-1 lead and we ended up winning the game, 3-1. She also came up with a lot of big hits too, including that Marist game, when she gave us the lead.”
Wood said one play in particular will always stand out.
“We always joke about the time when we were playing St. Pius X in the playoffs,” he continued. “She threw one off the ‘R’ on the dugout wall, but we still got a double play out of it. (Former first baseman) Haley Johnson picked it up and still threw the girl out at second, so we started calling it the “Cadillac Double Play.”
“But she’s really been a spark plug for us. She’s had a rough job playing second base and covering first all the time on bunts. She gave up a lot of size, but she always hung in there and made a lot of plays and scooped up some bad throws. She’s been a four-year starter for us and she’s really going to be missed.”
James plans to major in exercise science in hopes of one day becoming a physical therapist.
Georgia Southwestern is an NCAA Division II school and a member of the Peach Belt Conference, along with Young Harris, North Georgia, Georgia College, Francis Marion, Lander University, Augusta University and Flagler College.