Holmes County riding momentum into Final Four

BONIFAY, Fla. (WMBB) – The Holmes County softball team is the underdogs in the Class 1A State Semifinals but riding a nine-game win streak and could be a true dark horse threat to win it all.

The Blue Devils were 7-13 in the middle of April but have since won out, heading to the Final Four 16-13 with a district and region title.

The team is a mix of veteran leadership and youthful talent, led in the circle by a key transfer from Graceville at the beginning of spring.

It’s Holmes County’s first Final Four appearance since 2018 and only the second semifinal bid in the program’s history.

Holmes County first-year head coach, Sidney Revels was a senior for the Blue Devils softball team in 2018, now getting to be a part of both of the program’s Final Four appearances.

Coach Revels said she knew she’d be taking over a talented roster, but didn’t know just how good they could be.

“It’s really exciting,” Revels said. “I knew coming into this program and this season actually that we were going to go pretty far. I know most of the girls, growing up in Bonifay, my hometown, I know most of the girls, most of their families. I’ve played with some of their older siblings so, I knew we were going to get pretty far this year, I just didn’t know how far we’d make it.”

A big reason for the Blue Devil’s losing record to start the season was a brutal strength of schedule. 10 of the team’s 13 losses this season came against teams in larger classifications, including multiple regional qualifying teams.

Holmes County junior RHP, Brianna Adams said they’ve faced some of the best pitchers in the region this spring, preparing them well for the tournament.

“We’ve played some of the best pitchers in the state,” Adams said. “And I think that’s really going to help us when we get into the box to be confident, to know that we faced a Georgia pitcher, we faced an Auburn commit, and a Stetson commit.”

To reach the state semifinals, Holmes County defeated Region 1’s two-seed Jay and one-seed Northview, with both games on the road. Senior shortstop, Karson McGowan said those road battles have also prepared them for a trip to Clermont.

“Definitely, the past two games were big games on the road, McGowan said. “That was something I tried to remind everybody of, we go out there, we stay humble, we remind ourselves the game is not over until it’s over. And I feel like those past two games have prepared us very good for them for our next game.”

The Blue Devils are the four-seed in the state semifinals and will face one-seed Trenton on Friday, May 24, at 12:30 p.m. EST. The team will depart from Bonfay the day prior on Thursday morning.

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