When the confetti cleared from 2025’s state championship, things were always going to look different for the next Byrnes softball team up to bat.
Addy Waters knocked in a 2-RBI single to give the Lady Rebels a walk-off state title victory over Summerville last June. But much of last year’s roster — and experience — drifted away after that.
Six Lady Rebel seniors graduated. That included four of the most reliable bats in the state in Ellanie Yarrell, Kara Davis, Kaylee Hannon, and Maddie Wiant. Hannon and Wiant were also Byrnes’ two aces on the mound.
So, this year, Byrnes retooled.
The lineup is now paced by senior Memorie Melton, who is batting an absurd .585 this season with five homers and 45 RBIs. Several other trusted hitters — including the now-junior Waters, eighth-grader Garrison Aiken, freshman Wren Gaines, senior Haven Holmes, sophomores Maddie Taylor and Bayleigh Murray, and more — add more prowess at the plate.
While this year’s Byrnes team isn’t quite hitting for power as much as last year’s (just over half as many home runs as a team this season), all batters in the starting lineup are getting on base consistently.
Small ball has been the name of the game for the Lady Rebels.
“We’ve realized this year that we’re our own people,” said senior third baseman Haven Holmes. “We can’t base ourselves on what happened last year. We’ve got to take what we all have and what our strengths are.”
“Every single game, it’s different people stepping up,” said eighth-grade shortstop Garrison Aiken. “As long as the job gets done, we don’t care who gets the bottom or the top of the order.”
Meanwhile, on the mound, senior Peyton Cutcher has teamed with eighth-grader Addi Durrah to form a formidable pitching duo. Both pitchers have sub-3.00 ERAs.
“Addi and Peyton have both been big for us in place of our two pitchers from last year,” said head coach Brandi Aiken. “Honestly, everyone has since early March. The girls understand we had to do something more, and that just wearing our jersey doesn’t guarantee winning.”
A 6-0 loss to Crescent to open the season raised questions for the Lady Rebels. Some closer-than-expected early region matchups punctuated them.
Byrnes had three losses to its name by March 14, after a 2025 season where the Lady Rebels avoided a third loss until May.
But the team’s leaders — namely Melton, according to Aiken — stepped up in the dugout, rallying the players and bringing everyone on the same page. The Lady Rebels are 17-2 since.
“Memorie stepped up in the circle and said the things I’d been waiting for her to say,” said Aiken. “Memorie hates to lose and is super competitive… and since that moment, we realized we had another step to take as a team. They’ve stepped up and been dialed in. I’m really proud of them.”
On Friday night, the Lady Rebels are in action in the 5-A D1 playoffs, taking on a Clover team they saw earlier this year. That 17-7 win early in the season was the Rebels’ first of the campaign.
As Byrnes chases another state title, it will take every set of hands on the roster to cap a unique season with a trophy.
“Not to be cocky, but we have confidence as a team that even though we lost a lot of people last season, we’re still going to compete and be prepared,” said Garrison. “It’s just a matter of trusting ourselves and what we can do.”
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