FORT WHITE — Two batters into her team’s regional semifinals matchup, Kadence Compton had her rhythm interrupted.
An incoming storm delayed gameplay for about half an hour as Fort White and Madison County players headed for shelter.
The disruption could’ve impacted other pitchers. After all, the position demands mental toughness on par with most other high-stress jobs in sports. Instead, Compton and her teammates gathered for a “circle session,” a sort of team bonding exercise where Indians head coach Michele Padgett broke out relics from before the season began: goal sheets, or papers on which all players had written down their objectives for the upcoming season.
“We kind of just talked about the game a little bit and what we could do, and then we sat in a little circle and we talked about what we’re going to do that game and our attitudes,” Compton said of the experience. “My mindset was, ‘I’m going to strike (the next batter) out. Even though we’re on a rain delay and we’re going out there 30 minutes later, I’m still going to strike her out, and I’m still going to do what I can do.”
After the storm passed, Compton returned to the circle, striking out 14 batters on the way to a dominant 5-1 win over the Cowgirls. While she didn’t strike out the next batter, she got the next one to pop out to finally end the first inning.
It’s the kind of levelheadedness that partly earned Compton the LCR’s Softball Player of the Year honors, her second in three years. She also finished third in the 2024 Florida Dairy Farmers Class 1A Softball Player of the Year. The win set up what’s become one of the premier matchups in all of Class 1A softball in the state. But after sweeping two regular-season meetings against Branford, the Indians ended up dropping two postseason games in 12 days to the Buccaneers by a combined 4-1 score.
While it doesn’t take away from Compton’s stellar season, it still stings for the rising senior.
“I just go into those games and just play my game that I can play, knowing that they’ve faced me so many times,” she said. “I can only do so much, so I just go in there and rely on my team and just hope that we pull it out.”
Compton’s stats tell the story of how a great pitcher can make all the difference on any given team. Her 190 strikeouts and 0.94 ERA ranked top among area pitchers. According to Compton, the 190 strikeouts was just shy of her goal sheet’s stated 210 Ks.
“I was very close,” Compton said. “The team goal I had was for us just to be together and work together and have good attitudes.”
While the circle is where Compton receives the majority of her accolades, she’s no slouch in the batter’s box either, putting up a .407 batting average alongside a .486 on-base percentage, 22 RBIs, seven doubles and a pair of home runs, all good to lead her team.
However, Compton naturally takes pride in her pitching prowess. Her talents received a boost as well with the addition of Padgett’s daughter and former Fort White pitching great, Morgan Cushman, to the coaching staff.
Compton said it’s been a huge help. Even though co-head coach Chad Padgett has been helping develop Compton’s pitching form since she 10 years old, Compton said having Cushman around has been a boon for the way she approaches the game mentally.
While Chad Padgett can help with mechanics, Cushman, according to Compton, is a more calming presence.
“She really helps me because she’s younger, and so she really understands,” Compton said. “She can really explain really well and go deep into details with everything… She really understands the frustration and my thoughts through a game being on the mound, because she’s been in that position. She really helped me keep my composure and just settle down.
“I’ve always looked up to her as like my big sister. They’ve always said me and her, we’re just alike. If you look at pictures of me and her pitching, we look exactly the same.”
Michele Padgett has had a front-row seat to that near decade of development. It wasn’t always apparent that Cushman and Compton would even get along, especially given the fact that Cushman had a chance to mentor Compton from an even younger age before declining the role.
“Morgan used to come home talking about Kadence and loving this little, sassy girl in second grade,” Padgett said. “Kadence’s and Morgan’s personalities are a lot alike… Morgan can say things to Kadence with a little more validity to them because Morgan’s been there in the pitching circle. And if Kadence gives her any sass, (Morgan will say), ‘Hey, I was there.’”
The hard work paid off this season, maybe not in the grand scheme of where the Indians ended up, but at least in Compton’s personal track record. Facing off against the toughest schedule in Class 1A, according to the FHSAA, Compton still competed hard against the top teams in the state.
Against eventual state runners-up Branford in the regular season, Compton recorded 20 combined strikeouts in two games while allowing just two earned runs and two walks. Against the eventual state champs in Trenton, Compton was again nearly untouchable, giving up just three hits and no earned runs while striking out 10 in a 2-1 loss.
Thinking back on her accomplishments this season, Compton’s mind goes back to that early May meeting with Madison County. She said it may have been the happiest she felt during the year. Compton also went 2 for 3 at the plate with an RBI double to help seal the regional win.
Of course, Compton doesn’t want that happiness to fade, especially heading into her senior season. This time around, Compton said her goal sheet will look a little different than the 210-strikeout aim this past year, especially with so many underclassmen figuring to be part of the experience.
“Just to teach (my teammates) how to be together and work as a team,” Compton said. “Don’t take it so serious as a lot of people take it. Just live and have fun on the field, because it’s a great game to play, and you just want to have fun doing it.”
What makes Compton’s achievements all the more impressive is doing it against top competition at a smaller school. Padgett said the commitment from Compton to compete in such a manner speaks to her character.
“I’m sure some schools would love to have Kadence, but the more athletes you get transferred to your school, sometimes that causes issues and drama,” Padgett said. “I think all our players are mature enough to know that, and they know that they’ve played together for a long time.”
While other athletes in her position may think of transferring in a burgeoning age of player freedom of movement to a team more favored to win now, Compton said she is firmly with Fort White for another shot at getting back to Clermont for a run at a state title.
“When I look at Fort White, it’s always been ‘Tiwahe,’ and that means ‘family,’” Compton said. “I look at my teammates and even the freshmen that were on the team this year… I look at them as my family.
“I just know that I have to be there for them.”
ALL-AREA TEAM
P: Kadence Compton
Fort White, junior
The LCR’s Softball Player of the Year had an area-best 0.94 ERA with 190 strikeouts and only 23 walks in 112 innings; was also the team’s top batter, leading the Indians with a .407 average and a .486 on-base percentage with team-highs of 22 RBIs, seven doubles and two home runs.
P: Laila Arnold
Branford, junior
Led the Buccaneers with a 1.60 ERA and 172 strikeouts in 152 2/3 innings.
C: Morgan Brennan
Branford, junior
Hit .370 and had a .464 on-base percentage with 25 RBIs and four doubles; didn’t make a single error behind the plate.
1B: Mallory Blue
Branford, sophomore
Hit five home runs, had 25 RBIs and five doubles while batting .319 with a .373 on-base percentage and scoring 16 runs; had a .971 fielding percentage and contributed as a pitcher with a 2.16 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 45 1/3 innings.
2B: Anna Dansby
Columbia, sophomore
Hit .364 and had a .397 on-base percentage with 14 RBIs, two doubles and a triple; scored 12 runs and had a .958 fielding percentage.
SS: Cloey Criggall
Branford, junior
Led the area with 31 stolen bases and 35 runs scored while hitting .406 with a .469 on-base percentage that included four home runs, 13 RBIs, seven doubles and two triples; had a .925 fielding percentage.
3B: Haley Law
Suwannee, senior
Led the Bulldogs with a .350 average while posting a .409 on-base percentage with 10 RBIs, 19 runs scored, three doubles and two triples; had a .929 fielding percentage.
OF: Sakiya Merriex
Columbia, junior
Led the Tigers with 27 runs scored and 12 stolen bases while hitting .411 with a .543 on-base percentage and four doubles; didn’t make a single error in the outfield.
OF: Ellie Frierson
Branford, junior
Led the area with 10 home runs and 12 doubles while also hitting a team-best .455 with a team-best .505 on-base percentage; had 34 RBIs, scored 34 runs and had 17 stolen bases while posting a .980 fielding percentage.
OF: Brianna Woods
Suwannee, sophomore
Led the Bulldogs with three home runs, 27 runs scored and seven stolen bases while hitting .300 with a .404 on-base percentage that included 15 RBIs and three doubles; didn’t make a single error in the outfield.
DP: Josie Raulerson
Columbia, freshman
Led the Tigers with 29 RBIs and eight doubles while hitting .431 with a .458 on-base percentage that included four home runs (tied for team high) and 14 runs scored.
UTIL: Harleigh Price
Columbia, freshman
Led the area with a .460 average and a .553 on-base percentage that included four home runs (tied for team high), 15 RBIs, six doubles, one triple and 15 runs scored; was also the team’s top pitcher with a 2.33 ERA and 119 strikeouts in 84 innings while posting a .939 fielding percentage.
UTIL: Ella McAdams
Lafayette, sophomore
Led the Hornets with a .417 batting average, a .462 on-base percentage, 22 stolen bases, 21 runs scored and two triples, also hit four doubles and recorded 11 RBIs.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Oscar Saavedra, Branford
Led the Buccaneers to a 24-7 record, their third Final Four berth in four seasons and a second straight state runner-up finish. After losing to Fort White twice during the regular season, Branford got revenge in the District 6-1A championship and then in the Region 3-1A final, which saw Madyson Sikes hit a walk-off home run for a 1-0 victory. That win came just days after another walk-off victory in the regional semifinals via a 4-3 final over Aucilla Christian in extra innings. Saavedra’s squad run-ruled Liberty County 13-3 in the state semifinals before falling to Trenton 6-5 in extra innings in the Class 1A state championship.
HONORABLE MENTION: Columbia: Kimber Long, Luisa Taylor; Branford: Madyson Sikes; Fort White: Khloe Kirby, Gracie Clemons, Carly Caines; Suwannee: Gracie Watley, Maylee Gabey, Rachel Smith, Felicity May, Braylyn Federico; Lafayette: Ella Hancock, Emma Revels