Anchored by Julie Kelley, breakout bats, Spruce Creek emerges as softball title contender

ORMOND BEACH — Spruce Creek's pair of preseason softball games inspired confidence within junior Avery Helms and sophomore Alexis Minaberry that the Hawks could be in store for a special spring.

The results — in home games against Pine Ridge and Viera — were split, but the Hawks showed glimpses of a deeper, more powerful offensive lineup.

"I felt like the bats were already getting hot," Minaberry said. "It just carried onto the regular season.

"It showed me and the rest of the girls that we have some serious bats on this team this year. We've all seriously picked it up."

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And the Hawks have showed no signs of slowing down, averaging a shade under 10 runs per game following Tuesday's 5-0 victory against DeLand in a Five Star Conference tournament semifinal. Spruce Creek (15-3) will meet University (10-8-1) for the championship at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex.

Several of Spruce Creek's young hitters have simultaneously enjoyed breakout campaigns. Six regulars are sporting a batting average of at least .350 with a minimum of 45 plate appearances.

Helms and sophomore Meagan Cowoski have arguably made the biggest leaps. Helms, who batted .219 in 2023, has a .417 average with team-highs in home runs (six), RBIs (24) and OPS (1.378). Cowoski leads the Hawks with a .457 average, including seven doubles, 16 RBIs and 14 runs scored — a substantial improvement over the .238 mark she had as a freshman.

Neena Hernandez sets the table with a .540 on-base percentage out of the leadoff spot, and Mackenzie Colby has chipped in seven extra-base hits, including a pair of home runs.

Hawks coach Cameron McClelland calls the top six hitters in the order "super vital" to the team's success, a group that could "mishit a ball and have it go over (the fence)."

"Potential and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee," McClelland said. "They have put the potential to where it belongs. They work hard for each other and have fun playing with each other. It's just a great of girls that love being around each other. That's easy to feed off of. If (one player) is not having their best game, they're still rooting on their teammates."

The emergence of so many underclassmen has made life easy for All-Area pitcher, Kentucky signee and self-described "team mom" Julie Kelley. She is doing her part for the Hawks, too — swatting a towering two-run homer and striking out 16 in a complete-game shutout Tuesday.

"It's been really cool to see some of these girls grow the past couple years. Now, I'm the older one on the team," said Kelley, who improved to 8-1 with a 0.40 ERA and 116 Ks in 69⅓ innings. "It's nice to know the program is going to be in good hands when I leave. … There hasn't been one girl on the team that has not been a big contributor."

Of course, there is still plenty to accomplish before Kelley departs for Kentucky. Spruce Creek already matched its win total for 2023, a season in which it reached the Region 1-7A final. Last week, the Hawks exacted a bit of revenge against Lake Brantley with a 5-4 win.

Lake Brantley knocked the Hawks out of last year's playoffs in a 10-0 blowout before falling in extra innings to Spanish River in a state semifinal.

Sitting 35th overall, and sixth in Class 6A as of the FHSAA's most recent rankings update, Spruce Creek hopes to become Volusia County's next Final Four qualifier — and, perhaps, its second state softball champion.

"We've faced quality pitchers and had solid contact," McClelland said. "We're putting the ball in play. And when you've got a solid (defense) behind Julie, you can go as far as you want."

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Spruce Creek softball rolling behind Julie Kelley, breakout hitters