The Zion Chapel Lady Rebels made history this week when they brought home a state softball championship, becoming the first team of any kind to do so for the little school in the community of Jack. 

The Lady Rebels swept their way through the state tournament in Oxford, going 4-0 on their way to a state crown. 

“We played about as good as you can play,” ZCHS Coach Ethan Deal said. “I say it all the time, when you get up there you not only have to play well but you have to have some luck, too. You have to have some things go your way and we definitely had some things go our way.”

While Zion Chapel was dominant in Oxford, things weren’t always so rosy this season. The Lady Rebels suffered multiple losing streaks during the early part of the season but they never got down on themselves.

“I just think it’s a testament to their hard work and dedication,” Deal emphasized. “They could have thrown the towel in midway through the year because it was not looking good. We preached all year about our schedule, though. We had a really tough schedule and we knew it was going to pay off.

“We didn’t want to peak too early and we knew after the area tournament we saw some stuff we liked. We went down to regionals and we played really well and we came back and had two of the better practices we’ve had all year. We felt really good about going up to Oxford and thought if we went undefeated on day one it would put us in a really good spot.”

In the final two months of the season, Zion Chapel went 16-5 and three of those losses came at the hands of Pike Liberal Arts School, including a loss in the Area Championship and Regionals. Both Pike and ZCHS swept their way to the championship round of the state tournament, where the Lady Rebels finally overcame Pike 13-2 to come just one win away from a state crown.

“I have a ton of respect for Coach (Tori Sanchez) over there at Pike Lib,” Deal continued. “She has done a tremendous job and she has some great players there. Their second baseman is special. Every time we played them it was like if it could go their way it would. We hit some really hard balls against them all throughout the year and it went straight to someone.

“They were not going to make mistakes and they put the ball in play and did all the little things right. I said it all year, they had some kind of voodoo on us and we just couldn’t figure it out. I felt like we were the better team but it’s hard to say that when you play them six times and they win four. When we finally beat them (at state) it was a breath of fresh air, like finally getting that monkey off our back with that win.”

Zion Chapel boasted a team of just three seniors; shortstop Shea Wambles, pitcher Riley Bannin and outfielder Emily Rhodes. These three seniors have been a part of the varsity team since Deal’s first season at Zion Chapel, four years ago.

“I’ve probably cried 30 or 40 times since we won the state championship. They’re my babies,” he said. “They were ninth graders – eighth graders going into ninth – when I started and we busted it in the weight room for four years and we took our lumps and got our eyes beat in when we first started. We’ve had some great moments, too. This is something they’ll tell their kids about and their kids will tell their grandkids about.

“I think this senior class is two or three wins shy of 100 wins in four years. It means the world to win this with them. They are Zion Chapel. They’ve been here since they were in kindergarten and saw the worst of the worst and now they get to go out as the No. 1 team in (Class) 2A.”

All three seniors put on a show at the state tournament. Wambles held a .600 batting average with two doubles, two triples, an RBI and four runs. Defensively, she didn’t commit a single fielding error and tallied 12 putouts. 

“She was tremendous that entire tournament,” Deal said of Wambles. “She led us at the plate and led us in the field. She was spot on the entire time.”

Bannin pitched a total of 22 innings with a 3-0 record and 26 strikeouts to go along with a 1.591 ERA. She was named State Tournament MVP for her play. 

“She played outside of her head at state,” said Deal of Bannin. “She had 16 strikeouts in game one and I think she had 10 or 11 against Pike. She just kept everyone off balance, she was spinning the ball and hitting her spots. Against Pisgah, in the state championship, she had them so frustrated the entire game.” 

Rhodes earned a .417 batting average in the state tournament with three runs. In the outfield she also earned seven putouts, one assist and a double play with no errors.

“Emily Rhodes probably went 12-of-15 during the state tournament and all 12 of them were bunts,” Deal said. “Everyone in the park knew she was bunting and no one could do anything about it. She made a play against Pisgah in the state championship where she caught the ball in the outfield and doubled a girl up tagging to go to third and it completely changed the way the game was going.”

As stellar as those seniors were on the field, their leadership off the field may have meant even more. Zion Chapel had to sit through multiple lengthy rain delays during the state tournament, including during the championship game.

“I may have the head coaching title but this is such a player-led group,” Deal emphasized. “I’m just there to push them along and correct them when they need correcting. You saw that during the weather delays. I wasn’t the one doing the talking. They got into the locker room and cut the speaker on and they’re staying loose and locked in.

“During the weather delay in the state championship, we got back in the locker room and I addressed some things but then I shut up and went to find the umpires. My seniors were in there telling them what to expect and what we had to do. I’m over there sweating bullets in a chair but my senior in the circle is out there smiling ear to ear because she can taste (a championship).” 

During Deal’s first year at Zion Chapel, the Lady Rebels missed the plays. The second year, ZCHS made regionals. Last year, Zion Chapel made it to the state tournament but fell short. This year, though, they brought home the “Blue Map.” Deal pointed to other players that came through the program the previous four years as building the foundation on which the championship was built.
“Those girls were all massive for this program,” Deal said. “Just getting back to state last year was huge for us. You don’t know what to expect until you’ve been there and done that. Last year, there was a very sour taste left in our mouths leaving state because we got put out by a team that we felt like we were much better than, but being able to get there and play there meant a lot.

“We had a seventh and eighth grader on that team – who both were starters this year – and they got to be there and experience what it was like and see 15-20 (college) coaches behind home plate scouting. That can freak a team out if you aren’t used to it. So, that was huge for this team getting back there.” 

Zion Chapel’s state championship doesn’t just make history as the first state title for the softball program but it’s the first state championship any team has won at the school. Deal grew up in the Zion Chapel community, was a student-athlete there and a ZCHS graduate. So, he knows as much as anyone about what it means to the community.

“It’s not about me at all, it’s all about the girls, but I will tell you that one of the things that humbles me is being from here,” he continued. “Graduating from here, playing sports here and being invested here really makes it mean that much more. Just being able to bring it back here was a surreal moment for us. We pulled up outside yesterday and there were 1,000 folks standing outside cheering. We had eight girls on the bus crying, saying, ‘This can’t be real.’ It’s the first state championship for Jack, Ala., but it should not be the last.”