LDCC Softball 2024 Season Recap: A Memorable Season

Provided By: LDCC Sports Zone

Written by: Jonah Jenkins and Garrison Kingston, creators of LDCC Sport Zone

The 2024 A League softball season was a rollercoaster of excitement that kept fans on the edge of their seats until the very end. It was one for the books, not just because of the nail-biting competition but also because of the fantastic changes that breathed new life into the LDCC Softball league.

This season, we saw some major upgrades aimed at making game days smoother while also taking care of the players who put in the hard work as league stat keepers and umpires. Of course, we can’t forget about the one thing we can’t control: the weather. From tricky winds to rain delays, it definitely added some extra drama to the games, but we powered through and finished strong.

Let’s talk about the changes. First up, the league changed from six teams to eight. Some folks were worried this might water down the competition, but from where I was standing, the intensity was just as fierce as ever. Those players who got bumped up from the lower league really stepped up their game, showing they had what it takes to hang with the big dogs.

The game schedule also got a major upgrade. Instead of three games per night with teams sometimes sitting out a game, it was upped it to four games to accommodate the extra teams. But here’s the cool part: the schedule was set up so each team played back-to-back games, which meant less downtime and more action-packed nights. Plus, it gave players more freedom to enjoy the rest of their day after the games were done.

Overall, it was a seven-week whirlwind of excitement, with each team playing 14 games in total. It was a season of growth, both for the league and for the players, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for LDCC Softball. A special thanks to the commissioner James Young for making this possible. He gambled when making the changes to our season and it paid off.

2024 A League Season Stat Category Leaders.

Batting Avg: David Young - 0.868

On Base Percentage: David Young - 0.873

Slugging Percentage: Elden O Kingston - 2.104

Home Runs: Elden O Kingston - 18

RBI’s: Joe Lancaster - 52

Hits: David Young - 46

Singles: Darren Jenkins - 26

Doubles: Ben Andrews - 17

Triples: William Mckenna - 8

Strikeouts: Brad Jenkins - 8

To view season stats for all teams and players click the link below. http://leagues.iscorecentral.com/wdleague

The Season Stars: Who Do You Think Should Receive The Awards?

This season has delivered some remarkable batting performances. David Young appeared to be on a determined quest to secure the batting title. Concurrently, Elden O. Kingston has claimed his fifth home run title, and Joe Lancaster continues to dominate the league across all categories. Historically a top 10 batter every year since his debut, Darren Jenkins finds himself outside the top 20 this season. It might be wise for him to seek advice from Garrett Jenkins on how to maintain peak batting performance.

Notably, there is always one rookie that breaks into the top 10, with Ammon Kingston making a significant impression. Unfortunately for rookie Brayson Taylor, his position in the top 10 was compromised by subpar batting on the final night of the regular season. Two other rookies that really stood out were Abel Jenkins and Bryan Young. Abel didn't have the best batting year but his team knew they could rely on him in the outfield. Bryan Young is tied with Ammon Kingston for the top 10 spot in batting.

MVP Discussion

What does it take to win an MVP award? The MVP must demonstrate excellence on both offense and defense. In my opinion, this year’s statistics suggest the MVP title should be awarded to one of these three players: David Young, Elden O. Kingston, or Joe Lancaster.

All three athletes play the same position—outfield in left-center—and exhibit comparable defensive skills. One player might have slightly better defense this year but not much better to give them an edge over the others. Thus, the evaluation must focus on their offensive performance.

David Young led in batting average with an impressive 0.868 and hit 11 home runs, finishing third in slugging percentage and RBI’s with 40. Elden O. Kingston was second in batting average at 0.833, leading in home runs with 18 and topping the slugging percentage charts while getting 38 RBI’s. Joe Lancaster ranked sixth in batting average at 0.804, hitting 17 home runs, just one shy of Elden's total and claiming the RBI title by ranking in 52 total RBI’s.

To determine the most valuable player, we must identify the most critical statistics. While batting average is crucial, the differences between David’s and Elden’s averages translate to just two outs, and the gap for Joe is five outs. Given the closeness of these averages, home runs and RBI’s become a decisive factor. Joe’s 17 home runs and 52 RBI’s exceed David’s home runs by 6 and RBI’s by 12, and Elden’s 18 home runs surpasses David’s by seven and Joe by 1. Meanwhile Joe has 14 more RBI’s and David has 2 more than Elden .

Home runs significantly impact the game by providing momentum and boosting team morale and RBI’s score points. Therefore, Elden and Joe surpass David Young in value. Even accounting for the batting average gap by hypothetically reducing Joe’s and Eldens home runs by five, they still outperform David in home runs. Consequently, being more valuable than David on offense.

Infielder of the Year

Now let's talk about the defensive awards. Most years, the defensive awards seem to become a bit of a popularity contest due to the lack of stats kept on the defensive side. Unfortunately we don’t keep advanced defensive stats stating when a player makes an error or how many opportunities they are given vs opportunities they convert. We will give our best take based on the stats we do have starting with the infield. We can start with the usuals: Conner Jenkins led the way contributing to more outs than anyone else with 62. Conner accounted for 28% of his team's total outs. Right behind Conner was Garrison Kingston with 58 outs contributed to. Garrison was on pace to account for a whopping 33% of his team's outs before he was unable to attend one of the makeup Saturdays and ultimately ended up contributing to 30% of his team’s total outs. Up next, we have Danny Taylor who put up 53 outs this year. That accounts for 27% of his team’s total outs, but he does deserve some extra credit for leading his team’s defense to win the championship.

Up next, we have some comeback stories starting with Darren Johnson. After taking many years off, Darren struggled a little bit the past few years to put up his old defensive numbers. He was able to bounce back this year to put up the 3rd most outs of anyone at 56. That number is good for 25% of his team’s total outs. We also saw Garrett Jenkins revive his softball career this year. After being bounced around between 2nd base, 3rd base, and a little bit of shortstop the past few years, Garrett found himself leading the league’s best defense this year. Garrett pulled in 49 outs this year which comes to 22% of his team’s total outs. We also had a couple young up and coming players show out this year.

After struggling his first few years, Jacob Carlson was looked at as his teams “only option” at shortstop this year. He stepped up and proved that he could hang with the big boys putting up 50 outs, contributing to 26% of his team’s outs. Ashton Kingston, a second year player, bounced around between shortstop and 3rd base this year but found his home at shortstop to end the season right before the playoffs. Although he only had 34 outs (17% of his team’s outs), his team played in the championship which is more than 6 other teams can say. Last on our list of infielders, we have Hyrum Smith. While he didn’t have as many outs as most, it was still in your best interest to keep the ball away from him. Hyrum had 38 outs this year which came out to 22% of his team’s total outs. There was a lot of good competition in the league this year and it will only get better as the years go on.

Outfielder of the Year

Switching over to the outfielders, there were three players tied for the most outs among all outfielders. Phil Kingston (19%), Ben Hull (17%), and Joe Lancaster (20%) all contributed to 38 outs this year. Coincidentally, they all caught 37 balls and assisted 1 out. These 3 players had a lot of production this year, but sometimes that isn’t the only thing looked at for an outfielder of the year. If you are the type who likes style points, look no further than Brayson Taylor. Brayson didn’t have quite as much production (32 outs, 16%), but it was very entertaining to watch him make diving catches and robbing homeruns.

As a player, sometimes all you really want in an outfielder is someone that you can trust. Elden O Kingston (32 outs, 16%) and John England (28 outs 17%) fit that bill. Although they may not give the most production or have the fanciest catches, you know if the ball goes to them they will make the catch. Xzx Mattingly (31 outs, 14%) and Tim Harrison (32 outs 14%) are 2 up and coming outfielders who have proven they can play at a high level. They haven’t been in the A-League for very long (Tim 2 years, Xzx 1 year) but they are quickly becoming some of the top fielders in the league. Some other notable outfielders from this year were Ren Jackson (30), Verl Grant (30), Will Mckenna (29), David Young (23), and Jesse Young (20)

Congratulations to the top 4 teams for making it to the playoffs

A League Playoffs Recap

1st Games

**June 3, 2024 First Round of playoffs**

2nd Games

3rd Game

Loser of winners bracket VS winner of losers bracket

Winner goes to play in the championship

Championship Game 1

Championship Game 2

(Final Game)

A Champion has been crowned for the 2024 A League Softball Season

The championship games proved to be a spectacle well worth watching. Spectators packed the stands to witness Elden O.'s team decisively defeat James Stephens' team in the first game. Both teams then regrouped and delivered a thrilling performance in the subsequent game, which would determine the champion. Elden O.'s team maintained a hard-fought 4-point lead going into the final inning. James Stephens' team came to bat, needing 5 runs to clinch the victory. After a few batters and 2 points later, the defense managed to secure 2 outs with the bases loaded. As Charles Jenkins stepped up to bat, the crowd's excitement reached a fever pitch. With a powerful hit to center field, Jenkins drove in three runs, securing the victory. In an instant, the game concluded. Congratulations to James Stephens' team for becoming the 2024 Softball A-League champions. Additionally, commendations are due to Elden O. Kingston's team for their valiant effort and the captivating performance they displayed throughout the championship, making it a truly entertaining event.