Softball Coach of the Year: Viland leads Pope to state title

Dec. 7—Ellie Viland knew her Pope softball team was going to be good in 2022.

She just did not know how good.

The Greyhounds had graduated some quality players from their 2021 squad that went 33-4 and finished third in the state, but it did not take too long for Viland to realize this year's team was going to be something special.

Pope started the season 4-0 and had outscored its opponents 42-7 before losing to Region 7AAAAAA rival Lassiter 6-4. The Trojans had been in the Greyhounds' way the last two seasons, winning the 2021 state title, and it provided an opportunity to put a chip on the Greyhounds' shoulders.

Pope did not lose a game the rest of the season. It closed the year on a 31-game winning streak, finishing the year 35-1, beat Lassiter 11-3 in a rematch along the way and rolled through the playoffs to the Class AAAAAA state championship.

For her efforts, Viland, in her second year as head of the Pope program, was selected as the Cobb County Softball Coach of the Year by her peers.

"You could tell we were slowly building," said Viland, a former Pope player who succeeded her mentor, Chris Turco, at the helm in 2021. "The girls bonded and we really became a close-knit team."

For the year, the Greyhounds averaged 7.6 runs per game while allowing only 1.6, and they posted 12 shutouts. Only four times did the team allow more than three runs, and it did not allow more than two runs in any of its final 16 games on their way to the title.

For some of the players, a 6-5 victory over River Ridge in extra innings — the team that had eliminated Pope in the state tournament last season — that really made a picture of a possible state championship clear.

"We realized it after that game because we avenged the loss from last year," Pope pitcher Kendall Frost said. "We knew everyone wanted it."

The Greyhounds were blessed with great pitching from staff ace Frost and the offense was spurred on by senior outfielder Jadyn Laneaux, an LSU signee, but it was the rest of the squad who helped make it a championship team.

Laneaux, Emily Ricci and Natalie Klingler provided necessary senior leadership, while second baseman Sam Tener, shortstop Addi Trotter and outfielder Addy Garris all had breakout seasons, with Garris hitting better than .500 in the playoffs.

"The great thing with all of them is the were selfless," Viland said. "It was all about the team."

Now, after winning its second state title in four years, Pope can look forward, and it will likely be formidable again. Frost is expected to return for her senior season in 2023, and the remainder of the roster will have the knowledge and experience from a state title run to fall back on.

"It was a legendary year," Viland said, "and we have a strong core of players coming back."