Last Saturday, as I sat awaiting word from our reporters and freelancers at the slow-pitch softball state tournament, I was notified West Lauderdale High School had won its opener of a three-game set with Newton County High School.

“I bet this goes to Game 3,” I thought to myself.

That wasn’t a knock on West Lauderdale, which is currently experiencing a return to where its softball program was when Jerry Boatner was leading the team. The revival began last spring with Cary Luke leading the Lady Knights to the 4A title series and continued this fall when Jessie Kennedy did the same, so I wasn’t at all surprised to hear West Lauderdale had topped Newton County in Game 1. The Lady Knights have gotten to the point where they can compete with Newton County.

This is the same Newton County team, however, that has Justin Chaney running it, and betting against a Chaney-coached team — whether it’s him or his sister Kristin at East Central Community College — is going to come back to bite you more often than not. Game 3 was a foregone conclusion in my mind.

Ultimately, Newton County prevailed against a very good Lady Knights team, giving the school its seventh slow-pitch championship in a row. Newton County being good in softball is old news at this point, but it isn’t something we should brush aside as old news. Teams aren’t supposed to dominate a sport like that.

That same day, Neshoba Central High School was battling George County High School for the 5-6A slow-pitch championship. After besting George County in Game 1, 12-1, the Lady Rockets had gotten into a back-and-forth contest with the Lady Rebels and trailed 17-15 heading into the bottom of the seventh.

“I bet this doesn’t go to a Game 3,” I thought to myself.

Once again, I meant no disrespect to the other team. I’ve simply following Trae Embry’s program long enough to know better. When the Lady Rockets walked off to win 18-17, it confirmed my suspicions giving Neshoba Central a bottom of the seventh was too big an advantage for the Lady Rockets.

It was the fifth slow-pitch title in a row for Neshoba Central. The Lady Rockets being good in softball is old news at this point, but it isn’t something we should brush aside as old news. Teams aren’t supposed to dominate a sport like that.

Google Maps separates these two schools by only 37 minutes. Think about that for a second: Two schools within 37 minutes of each other have utterly dominated this sport for an extended period of time. Chaney and Embry will both stress their players’ and assistants’ devotion as the reason they’ve had so much success, and I believe them. Still, you can’t help but stop and consider their accomplishments and come away impressed.

We ran a photo last Sunday of Chaney hugging his players following their Game 3 win. Anyone who observes Chaney during a game knows he coaches his players tough, every pitch, every inning. Looking at that picture, it’s easy to understand why.

“It’s really special,” Chaney said of the moment his team wins a title. “I don’t really get emotional, but in that moment, all of the hard work and running and sweating they’ve put in, it just combines together and, ‘boom.’”

Embry said there isn’t a better moment to experience as a coach.

“That’s probably the ultimate (feeling) in coaching, that you’ve accomplished the highest goal in a team sport,” Embry said.

Both coaches come from a similar background, in that they both grew up playing baseball before making the transition to softball. After accomplishing so much, neither have lost that determination to strive for excellence, perhaps because, in part, they don’t appear to dwell on those accomplishments.

“I try not to, I really don’t,” said Embry, who now has five slow-pitch and four fast-pitch titles to his name at Neshoba Central. “We kind of go from season to season. Our expectations are what they are. We actually started working on fast-pitch Wednesday.”

Chaney has a similar outlook, telling the story about how, on the bus ride home from state, one of his coaches suggested he couldn’t make it home without mentioned fast-pitch once. For Chaney, it’s not the titles, but the reputation of a hard worker, for which he wants to be known.

“I’m a coach; that’s what I do,” said Chaney, who has won seven fast-pitch titles and eight slow-pitch titles at Newton County. “I always try to tell people, I’ve been a part of a lot of state championships, but it’s not me, it’s the drive our young ladies have. … When I’m dead and gone, I don’t care about state championships — I love winning, don’t get me wrong — but I want people to say Coach Chaney worked his tail off.”

One key to success both coaches cited was the overall strength of softball in east Mississippi. Newton County had to beat an east Mississippi team in three games to win a title. Choctaw Central was also in Ridgeland last weekend capturing its first slow-pitch championship since 2013. Union High School made it to the state semifinals, and Meridian, Enterprise, Philadelphia and Northeast Lauderdale high schools were also playoff teams. Philadelphia isn’t far removed from slow- and fast-pitch titles itself. That’s just off the top of my head and likely doesn’t reflect our area’s true worth in the sport.

“As coaches, we talk about it,” Chaney said. “We can go within a 30-mile radius on any given night and play teams that are going to get us ready for the playoffs. That’s what’s super.”

That gives his team a competitive advantage, Embry said, when his team finally gets to the postseason.

“I think its speaks for itself,” Embry said of east Mississippi. “You had us, Newton County, Choctaw and West Lauderdale all down there. I think it’s the top area in the state. For scheduling, it definitely (gives us an advantage). Every night you have to compete, so when we get in, we’ve already played agains the best competition.”

People sometimes ask me why I don’t cover their team when they win a game, as opposed to making it out for a team that loses. I always tell them the same thing: If I knew the results of games before they were played, I would make a living betting on games instead of covering them. In softball, though, Newton County and Neshoba Central are as sure a bet as they come.

Unless they play each other, of course. Then I just flip a coin.

Drew Kerekes is the sports editor at The Meridian Star. He can be reached at dkerekes@themeridianstar.com.