Sumter High's Ivey dominates in the circle en route to Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week

Lillie Ivey has been a mainstay atop Sumter High's rotation since making the jump to varsity as a middle-schooler. Now, as she's nearing the end of her sophomore season, she's doing everything she can to help the Lady Gamecocks make a push for a state title. So far, she's out to a strong start.

Ivey went 3-0 in the circle last week to help Sumter High clinch the No. 2 seed in the lower state, earning a first-round bye in the playoffs and a chance to play at home until a potential trip to the lower state championship. In their first game of the postseason on Wednesday, she dazzled with seven strikeouts and flashed some impressive leather in a dominant 12-2 win, earning Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week in the process.

"This support just feels really good," Ivey said of the recognition.

The SHS sophomore continues to find ways to improve in the circle. Ivey felt like she was capable of making another jump this offseason because she was fully healthy throughout the year. In the summer before her freshman year, Ivey needed surgery after suffering a shoulder injury. After building her strength throughout last spring, she's been right as rain ever since. Ivey has a minuscule 1.56 ERA over 89 2/3 innings, earning 13 wins through their first playoff game.

"It was a lot last year with my surgery. I had to do the whole protocol thing, and mentally and physically, it was a lot different," she said. "This year was much easier knowing that I didn't have to worry about that, and I could work as hard as I could to get to where we are now."

Sumter High assistant coach Courtney Moss has watched Ivey blossom so much through the years and continues to be impressed by the way she keeps pushing to find the next layer of her game.

"We took a different approach to bullpens this season, focusing on moving the ball more than what she was used to doing. Really just taking the two breaking balls she throws so well, her curveball and her screwball and moving them in the zone to keep these batters off-balance," Moss said. "I've stressed with (the pitching staff) the importance of our first-pitch strike percentage. If you get ahead in the count early, you can throw whatever you want. The biggest thing is what pitch do you want to focus on for that first-pitch strike? This year, it's pretty much been her screwball. She's learning how to throw them different ways to be successful in that first-pitch strike. It's very rare she's not getting a first-pitch strike."

That detailed work helped Ivey really rack up the punch outs this spring. She entered Friday's matchup with Wando with 102 strikeouts this spring, nearly 20 more than she had a year ago.

"Seeing myself improve with that has really made me happy," she said. "Just knowing that everything has been working out the way I planned."

The week leading up to the postseason was extremely important because Sumter High was battling West Ashley for the No. 2. SHS was able to cruise to region wins over Ridge View by double figures, but two dates with Latta would be an important test. That was exactly why the married coaching duo of Mike and Courtney Moss wanted to have them on the schedule in the first place.

"I actually went to school with the coach from Latta, and she reached out early in the season looking for games. Mike and I talked about how good of a program they have there and how much it would challenge not only our defense and our offense, but it would give Lillie a challenge going into the playoffs," Courtney Moss said. "We're going to see ball clubs like them. We knew they were going to have some powerful hitters, but I knew if Lillie was on, her ball moved like she wanted it to move, that she would keep them off their toes, and she did."

Ivey and the Lady Gamecocks were more than familiar with the stakes heading into the two matchups, and she pitched Sumter High to both victories. The first was a nine-inning masterpiece, which SHS won 1-0. She allowed just two hits and a walk across nine innings, striking out 11 batters. She came back on Friday for the final game of the regular season and led Sumter High to a 4-1 win with six strikeouts as she danced around seven hits and two walks.

"We definitely were paying attention because the bye and the home games were what really meant a lot to us," Ivey said. "We got home games last year, but we haven't had many in the past. Having home games (in the playoffs) is big, so that's really what we wanted.

"Latta is a very good team, and I really wanted to beat them, so I just knew I had to focus and throw strikes because I know I have a really good defense behind me."

She kept the good times rolling against James Island on Wednesday, scattering six hits and a walk in their 12-2 win. Ivey struck out seven batters but also defended her position extremely well as James Island smacked a few screaming line drives right up the middle. Along with her work to increase her strikeouts, Ivey puts in a ton of work to improve on her defense in the circle.

"We do PFP every practice, which is Pitching Fundamental Practice, where Coach (Mike) Moss will do different scenarios hitting back to us, hitting short, he'll hit them pretty hard, so we work on that every day," she said. "That showed that we work on it every day."

The strikeouts proved to be important, too. James Island got their offense moving early with three hits and a run in the top of the first, but Ivey shut the door with two punch outs to close the inning. That opened the door for the offense to take over with four runs in the bottom of the frame.

"It's almost like getting the run back. I have to work a little harder and finish the inning," Ivey said. "Those were some very hard hitters, so I just knew I had to hit my spots where Coach Courtney wanted me to hit them. Staying consistent, that's what I had to do."

The Lady Gamecocks won six consecutive games entering the playoffs and have plenty of wind in their sails. Ivey is confident they can keep the good times rolling and push further than they ever have.

"All of us have played together for years and years. We're all doing it for our seniors," Ivey said. "We're carrying it on as far as we can for them. I think our bond is probably the best it's been since I've been here. We're all really good friends, and we all care about each other deeply."

The Mosses know they'll be able to compete with anyone this postseason when Ivey is in the circle. She's pitched in a fair share of playoff games in her young career and has never been fazed. They don't expect that will start now.

"She's been our ace since she was in seventh grade, and even as a young pitcher, she was always poised and confident on the mound. For the last four years, we've gotten to see that composure and confidence get better and better," Courtney Moss said. "Her first playoff game, she was 13 years old, and she pitched against the No. 1 team in the state, Lexington, and we ended up losing 6-0, but even then, she was holding off one of the best offensive teams in the state as a 13-year-old. Her future is very bright in the world of softball. This group of girls is very special, and it's very exciting to see where we can go with Lillie on the mound."