Pitts named first coach of revived slow pitch softball program

Published 11:03 pm Monday, June 24, 2024

MOULTRIE — Chance Pitts resigned last month as the Colquitt County fast pitch softball program’s leader in career victories.

Now he will begin taking aim at Keith Croft’s slow pitch career victories record.

Pitts was named on Monday as the head coach of Colquitt County slow pitch softball program, which has been resurrected this year and will begin play next spring.

He led the Lady Packers fast pitch teams to a record of 156-87 over the last eight seasons before stepping down, citing a desire to spend more time with his wife and two young children.

Former Tift County head softball coach Taylor Barber was named Monday as Colquitt’s new head fast pitch coach.

But Pitts agreed to re-start the slow pitch program, which has a maximum of just 16 games.

The slow pitch season will begin on Feb. 13. The postseason starts on April 9 and the state finals are scheduled for April 16-17.

“I will still be able to step back a little bit,” he said.

Pitts will remain as the high school assistant athletic director and the middle school athletic director.

Colquitt County Athletic Director Cleve Edwards called Pitts “a pillar” of the school’s softball program for 14 years.

“That commitment to the program made it an easy decision when discussing the start of the new slow pitch program,” Edwards said.

Colquitt County Principal Chris Merritt said Pitts’s “understanding of organization and leading a successful program makes him exceptionally qualified for this role.”

Colquitt County started its original slow pitch softball program in 1984 and played it exclusively through 2000.

Croft coached the team 10 of those seasons and had a record of 176-88 when the school went to fast pitch only in 2001.

Slow pitch was a GHSA sanctioned sport from 1981-2008, but was discontinued in 2009.

It was revived in 2017 and Haralson County has won three of the seven state championships since then.

Creekview won the state tournament last year when eight teams competed at the Twin Lakes Softball Complex in Woodstock.

Schools are divided into areas, rather than conventional regions.

It is unclear what area the Lady Packers will play in and who their competition will be.

Pitts said Colquitt County’s slow pitch softball team will be opened to any girls not involved in another spring sport.

Girls who play fast pitch in the fall would be eligible.

Pitts and wife Caitlin have a son Crew and a daughter Palmer.