The Grind, presented by Bank of Clarendon: Lakewood's Anna Grace Fowler not just following in her sister's footsteps

Lakewood's Anna Grace Fowler doesn't have an off switch.

The sophomore seemingly spends every waking minute on the softball field. During the school year, she suits up for the Lady Gators, for which she's been an All-State player for two consecutive seasons. During the summer, she splits her time between two squads. During the week, she's playing shortstop for the Sumter Lady Storm. Almost every weekend, she's traveling across the Southeast playing for Team Mojo, a travel team that pulls from across the state.

Anna Grace started by following in the footsteps of her older sister, Cakhi, herself a two-time All-State pitcher, but now she's setting her own path as one of the top infielders in South Carolina.

FINDING A DRIVE AT AN EARLY AGE

Anna Grace knew by the time she was 12 she wanted to play college softball one day. From that moment on, she was determined to become the best version of herself.

"I remember a conversation that I had with my dad in the car. I was like, 'Whenever I play in college, how different is it going to be?' And my dad was like, 'You want to play in college?' And I said yeah. He got really excited in that moment," Anna Grace said. "That was probably the first time I ever struck interest in playing in college because I knew it was going to be super competitive, and you're going to get a lot of work if you work hard."

Anna Grace played for the Dixie World Series runners up in 2016, but her dad, Ryan Fowler, wasn't sure she wanted to take that next step of commitment until just before that season when she was 12.

"We set goals for our team that year, and she said, 'Dad, I want to hit my first home run this year,'" Ryan said. "She was still a diminutive young lady. She wasn't very strong, and I said, 'OK, well, if you want to do that, that's a great goal, but let's get to work.' It was like a light switch. We went out to Palmetto Park one day, and she put her first ball over the fence, then she hit her second and her third.

"That day, she had gone from a day that's playing a game to 'I like this, I like doing this, I can do this.' You could see instantly the belief, and from there, it's taken on a life of its own. There's no challenge too big. It doesn't matter if she's facing the best pitcher in the world or the worst; she feels like she can hit them all."

FOWLER SISTERS DRIVE EACH OTHER

Anna Grace first got into softball because she watched Cakhi get into the sport. The elder sister remembers Anna Grace coming out to every game she played.

"It always kinda boosted my head a bit because I think it's a very sweet thing to have your little sister look up to you the way she did and always has," Cakhi said. "She's always been my biggest fan. I hope to be that for her now."

When Anna Grace started playing, it sparked a hunger that she's never really satisfied.

"I've always had that drive to win with everything I did, and I was very competitive," Anna Grace said.

That competition fueled two sisters to make each other better. Cakhi always had a batter eager to take batting practice, and Anna Grace always had a dominant pitcher against which to hone her skills at the dish.

But Anna Grace was too young to suit up on the same travel ball team as Cakhi, so their competition was focused on the practice field for a long time.

In 2020, that was supposed to change. Anna Grace got the call up to varsity as Cakhi was coming off her first All-State season, but the elder Fowler started what would become an ongoing battle with back injuries and was forced to the sideline. Then COVID-19 hit, wiping out the season entirely.

As 2021 rolled around, Cakhi wasn't sure if she'd be able to play. She had surgery in the offseason and wasn't overly optimistic, but Anna Grace urged her sister to try.

"It meant a lot to me because I didn't expect to be able to play my senior year," Cakhi said. "I struggled coming back from my back surgery, but Anna Grace was like, 'No, you're doing this, you've got this.' It was a 'I'm not playing without you' sort of thing, and I went out there and gave it a final shot."

When the sisters shared the field, they suddenly had even ground when it came to bragging rights. Anna Grace wanted to do whatever it took to catch up to her All-State sister, despite just being in the eighth grade.

"We were always super competitive against each other. When we got on the same team, I think it pushed us to push each other harder," Anna Grace said. "We were ready; we wanted to win. We were going to do whatever it took, and we were going to push each other no matter how much it took, no matter how much arguing or screaming or yelling there was on or off the field; we were going to push each other to do it. I feel like she really helped me."

Ryan serves as an assistant coach at Lakewood, so he had a front-row seat for that special season.

"As Anna Grace started getting older and showing interest in the game (seeing them play together) was an interest of mine," Ryan said. "The only thing I pick on them about is that I wished I had taught Anna Grace how to catch so she could catch Cakhi to complete the battery there, but that never came to fruition. Anna Grace proved to be too valuable where she was at, and we were fortunate to have some great catchers for Cakhi like Keeley Hulse and Cambrie DeBerry. It really was a fascinating dream come true to have both of them on the field."

The spring of 2021 can be perfectly summed up by one game, a dramatic win over Camden.

Lakewood played Camden twice in the span of three days for a pair of crucial region contests. The first was an eight-inning victory at Camden that saw Cakhi grit out the win in the circle, battling humid weather to strike out 17 batters and hit two home runs in what eventually became an 11-4 win thanks to a seven-run eighth inning.

Two days later, Camden made the trip to Lakewood for an absolute marathon. Cakhi was in the circle again for a game that lasted about three hours and 10 innings. Cakhi threw nearly 150 pitches to keep the Lady Gators in the game long enough for Anna Grace to smack a game-winning two-run shot to win the game.

"I'm pretty sure my most favorite softball moment ever was when me and her are standing at home plate hugging after I hit that walk-off," Anna Grace said.

Cakhi still remembers the pain she fought through to finish that game and the words of wisdom she shared with Anna Grace before that fateful at bat.

"I was struggling that game. My back was hurting, my arm was hurting, and Anna Grace was right there with me that whole time, talking me through it, calming me down and making sure I was going to be OK like Anna Grace always does," Cakhi said. "We had a talk right before that at bat, and I said, 'This is your moment; don't worry about anything that's going on with me, just execute.' She hit that walk-off, and it was just amazing."

That season, unfortunately, didn't have the storybook ending the Fowler family hoped for. Just before the start of the playoffs, Cakhi's back pain came back worse than ever. She wasn't able to pitch in the postseason, and Lakewood made a swift exit.

FEAR OF INJURY

The end of the 2021 season also left Anna Grace with questions about her own future in the sport. Seeing the sport ripped away from Cakhi made Anna Grace wonder about the risks she was taking by playing the sport year-round.

"I won't lie. It scared me a lot because I was so deep into the game that I did not want to go, I don't want to leave it behind, I didn't want to ever have to," Anna Grace said. "Obviously, working out all the time and going to tournaments is super risky because anything can happen. It's really unpredictable, so you kinda just have to roll with it. Sometimes you have to play through pain, and sometimes you can't play through pain.

"It is super scary because there's a constant thought in your mind that something could happen at any moment, and I could be done for, so give it your all in the time that you can."

After going through years of pain and surgeries, Cakhi still talks with her sister about the pros and cons of a busy schedule.

"I worried about that, and I've talked to her about that before, telling her to give herself rest, to make sure she's eating right and sleeping good," Cakhi said. "That's one thing I didn't do the best. I would play and play and play, and I would never take down time. I have worried about it, but her mechanics are spot on. When I pitched, I had things I had to work on because coming back from injuries, it just created an error in my mechanics (by overcompensating). She's doing things the way she should be doing them, so I don't worry about it anymore."

One benefit Anna Grace has is her position. Pitching causes much more severe wear and tear on a player, especially their back. Ryan also makes sure she's not overdoing it.

"This is a big focal point for us. We actually limit this, as much as it doesn't seem like it," Ryan said. "Generally, they never play more than two tournaments in a row or two to three tournaments in a month. It's been kinda spread out; it just comes in waves. It's something we've been very focused on with Anna Grace more than we were with Cakhi probably, making sure she does the things that make her healthy, the strength training and the conditioning.

"With Anna Grace, she doesn't pitch, so the game is not as hard on her. We also have her on teams where she doesn't have to carry a majority of the load."

That decision to stay out of the circle is an ongoing debate in the Fowler household, especially this spring. Lakewood lost two pitchers to injury, so the Lady Gators were desperate for arms. Anna Grace pitched one time, getting an out against Crestwood, but Ryan is hesitant to let her throw more.

"We have this argument all the time. We actually introduced Anna Grace to pitching at the age softball requires players to pitch, that 10U age group. She pitched a little bit there, didn't love it, didn't have the desire to do it on that level, but it ebbs and flows," Ryan said. "What we did notice is that early on, when she did try to pitch, she would complain about discomfort. It didn't feel rhythmic to her, so we were very protective about not pushing it either."

"I think what we've seen is now that she's had the level of success that she's had, I think she does want to dip her toe into it, one to help Lakewood out a little bit because of the needs, but two to live up to that Cakhi standard."

STEPPING OUT OF CAKHI'S SHADOW

Of course, when your older sister is a star, that sets a certain amount of expectation on a player. Anna Grace felt that pressure the second she stepped onto a varsity field for the first time.

"I felt like that pressure was carried onto me. I had to continue the streak," Anna Grace said. "I'm obviously going to do whatever it takes to make my sister happy and myself happy, so being able to do that and be able to follow in her footsteps and keep everything, it makes me really happy."

From an early age, Ryan made the point to let Anna Grace know that she didn't need to be a carbon copy of her sister.

"One of the first things we wanted her to establish was individuality," Ryan said. "We wanted to be very cautious of the shadow that she would have to live in. We wanted her to know that regardless of her success, because we didn't know she would have the success that she's had, we wanted her to understand that whatever amount of success she had would be good and would be OK. She didn't have to live up to something else.

"As she's grown and started filling out and figuring out who she is and how she plays the game, it's been great to see that level of individuality in what she does," he said.

Anna Grace has certainly stepped out of that shadow.

This spring, the sophomore was named All-State for the second-straight season after hitting .645 with six doubles, three triples and four home runs. She scored 34 times and stole 32 bases, a skill she particularly honed this season after walking 25 times.

"I really hate walking, so whenever I do, I make sure on the first pitch, I'm going," Anna Grace said. "On second, on the first pitch, I'm going again. Then I'll run halfway down from third, make them throw it to third and bolt home. You've got to learn those techniques; you've got to learn how to stay sharp on the bases."

Two weeks ago, Anna Grace added to her growing list of accolades on a national level. The National Fastpitch Coaches Association named her to the All-Region VII first team, which includes players from across the Southeast. She was one of three South Carolina athletes to earn the recognition. But this is just the beginning.

"It really does push me to work harder and harder and harder because I want more. I'm always going to want more," Anna Grace said. "Being recognized by those platforms is amazing, and I'm so grateful to be even on these people's radar."

Cakhi is still impressed by the strides her sister continues to take.

"She has improved a lot over the last three years," Cakhi said. "I've never seen someone with a swing like my sister has; she's amazing. Just the leverage she gets, the way she hits the ball, it looks like she doesn't even try. It looks effortless. It just amazes me."

Ryan hopes these awards prove the lessons he's tried to teach all of his children throughout their lives.

"For us, it just reinforces the lessons we wanted to teach them at an early age, and that's if you work hard, the fruits of your labor will reveal themselves," Ryan said. "It's really cool. It validates what parents want their kids to learn every day and how we use sports to teach it."

THE SEARCH TO PLAY IN COLLEGE

That national attention hasn't just come in terms of accolades. While the rising junior still has two seasons of high school softball yet, she is fully in the weeds of college recruitment. Anyone can see that with a quick look at her Twitter page.

In 2023, self-promotion is key to success. Anna Grace is constantly posting highlight videos from all of the teams she plays for, hoping to get the attention of more college coaches. When she's not playing for one of her three teams, she's trying to make a name for herself at various camps and showcase events. She wants every coach out there to know the name Anna Grace Fowler.

"I feel like part of being a good self-promoter is going to camps, getting yourself in front of the coaches," Anna Grace said. "Making the transition to college, especially when you're playing a sport, is not the easiest thing to do because you may go to the school and you may not like the coaches, you might not like the school, you may not like the players, and then you end up in the transfer portal, and that's also a very stressful thing.

"The best thing you can do is go to camps, get to know your coaches. Whenever I go to camps, I make best friends with all of the coaches because that's my personality. You've got to go to camps, you have to introduce yourself, you have to have a good attitude. If you make a mistake, who cares? Just go on with the game, you have to continue doing what you do. If you do great, fantastic, if you do bad, that's OK, because they want to see your mistakes; they wanna see how you're going to bounce back."

Seeing Anna Grace go through this recruitment journey is bittersweet for Cakhi. The elder Fowler went through this same process and hoped to suit up for South Carolina, but Cakhi's softball career is likely over. Still, she supports Anna Grace on this journey.

"It's been hard because I've been in the position where I got a lot of attention, and injury after injury would happen, and it never panned out," Cakhi said. "But I'm honestly so proud of her because three or four years ago, I wouldn't have expected the people that are talking to her to be talking to her or even for her to be considering playing college softball. She's blown up. She's put in the work, and I am ecstatic to see her get the attention she is. I want her to do everything I couldn't because I know she can."

TEAM SUPPORTER

While self-promotion is key, Anna Grace is far from a self-obsessed athlete. Anyone in attendance at a Lakewood or Lady Storm game can hear her screaming her support for her teammates at the top of her lungs. She doesn't plan to stop any time soon.

"I'm always going to be the person to push people. I'm definitely going to aggravate people, I'm definitely going to cheer loud in the dugout, you can bet that," Anna Grace said. "I love being that leader because it doesn't give me superiority. I do not see myself like that at all. I push people a lot, and I want people to work hard. I want to succeed, so if I want to succeed, other people have to succeed, too."