By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

KILN — Hancock versatile junior standout Teegan Dewitt has been selected as the “Softball Player of the Year” by the SouthMiss6 Sports staff.
Dewitt helped guide her Lady Hawks into the Class 6A state championship round before falling to South Panola in two games. DeWitt was a two-way star for head coach Joe Rankin, striking out a “Southern Six” high of 184 batters from the circle with a 0.78 earned run average while recording an equally impressive .541 batting average at the plate with 38 runs batted in.
“She’s a great kid. Most people just see her stats and see her on game day, but they don’t get to see her work every single day,” Rankin, who led Hancock to the state finals in just his second year at the helm of the Lady Hawks, said. “I’ve only been at Hancock for two seasons, and I honestly cannot recall one day where she hasn’t given her all at practice or lifting weights or conditioning. That’s hard to do. She’s always one of the loudest in the dugout cheering. That’s what makes her impressive. The ability takes care of itself, but those other things make her one of the best I’ve ever been around.”

Dewitt became the only player in Class 6A this season with a sub 1.00 ERA from the circle and at least 50 hits on offense.
DeWitt reached a milestone earlier this season earning her 500th career strikeout in the 12-0 win over Long Beach in Region 4-6A play.
“Teegan has proven she is one of the best in the state,” Rankin added.
Dewitt burst upon the scene as a hot shot freshman striking out 196 batters  in 104 innings of work in 2022 while registering a 1.07 ERA and quickly cemented herself as a force to be reckoned with in prep softball circles in the “Southern Six”.
She comes from a family that features three brothers that all played high school sports and that fuels her competitiveness.
Upon Rankin’s arrival last season as head coach of the Lady Hawks, Dewitt followed up her sensational freshman campaign with another electric season. The sophomore struck out 191 batters to run her career total to nearly 400 in just two seasons. She improved significantly at the plate, as well, recording 34 hits with a .453 batting average and 27 RBIs.

In the Class 6A South State playoffs this season, Dewitt recorded six wins in the circle and in that same span she has 10 hits with half of those for extra bases and six RBIs.
And even though Dewitt suffered both losses in the state finals, she gave her team very chance to win in the circle as South Panola scored late in both games to take a pair of one run wins 1-0 and 2-1.
She picked up both wins in a three game Class 6A South State championship series against George County that punched Hancock’s ticket to the state finals. In an emotional game three on the road in Lucedale, Dewitt hurled a complete game scattering just three singles while striking out six and walking none.
That came on the heels of a game one performance also on the road in a 3-2 Hanock win as Dewitt as also went the distance in earning the win striking out 12 and allowing six hits while walking just two.
She also produced an RBI-single in the top of the first for Hancock to make it 1-0 and two innings later Dewitt was at it again as she cracked a two-out RBI-double to center to make it 2-0. 
With her senior season still ahead of her, Dewitt will return to the diamond next season amidst high expectations.
“Well, I’m going to get on her nerves and push her to do more and not be satisfied with anything that’s been done,” Rankin concluded. “She can still be better.”