There are images in the sporting world which endure. Images which transcend time and evoke in athletes and spectators alike a sense of awe or finality or even joy. 

As a community Wood County is blessed to be presented with such images, every sporting season it seems, as young athletes compete in a variety of endeavors. But there are a few of those events which stand above the rest. They are timeless in what they represent and in the meaning they communicate.

One of the most noteworthy of these events just passed its tenth anniversary last spring. 

In the spring of 2013, the Mineola Lady Jackets softball team was on a mission. They had lost the year before in the state semifinal to the La Grange Leopards. They were back in the state tournament the next year and promptly dispatched La Grange, 7-1, to reach the state finals.

Of the 12 playoff wins it took to reach the state finals, only the Henderson series presented the Lady Jackets with a real challenge. The Lady Jackets were an amazing team and had their sights set on a state title. 

The state final took place on Saturday, June 1 in the late morning at McCombs Field at the University of Texas. Mineola faced the Hudson Hornets of Lufkin. The Hornets had 38 wins under their belt and were a formidable team.

They proved it, scoring in five of the seven innings to build a 12-2 lead going into the bottom of the seventh inning. It looked as though the Mineola dream of a state title was finished. 

Two quick outs in the bottom of the seventh left the season hanging by a thread. ‘It had been a good run,’ was surely in the back of many people’s minds.

Then, Kassy Skinner, the number nine hitter in the Lady Jacket line-up, singled to center field and began a rally which was nearly epic. Britney Johnson tripled down the left-field line, chasing Skinner home. Rikkilyn Hass singled up the middle driving in Johnson. 

Marisa Ledkins followed with a base hit and Morgan Catron reached on an error. With the bases loaded, Sister Green doubled to left-center and drove in three more runs. 

A base-on-balls to Ali Galaz, a double by Manda Wilmoth and a wild pitch chalked up two more runs for the Lady Jackets. Maddie Wood was hit by a pitch. Kassy Skinner drew a walk, and the bases were loaded. The score stood 12-9. The winning run stepped to the plate. 

With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Mineola had batted around and put up seven runs. It is likely impossible to calculate the odds of the two-out rally that they staged. But the Mineola stands were full of orange and there were plenty of witnesses to the feat.

Lefthanded hitter Britney Johnson – who already had a triple in the rally – stepped in. She smoked a ball down the first-base line. The Leopard first-baseman made a jab at the ball as it sped past and snagged it, just barely. The ball which was destined for a long run down the right-field line and likely would have tied the game, became the final out. The rally ended.  

As the shock of the defeat paralyzed many of the Lady Jackets, something happened. Those in attendance, not just those dressed in orange, but all in attendance, stood up and gave the Lady Jackets a standing ovation. 

In her classroom at Mineola Elementary School, the coach of that team, Jana Nance, described the emotional scene. “It was a special moment, a once-in-a-lifetime kind of moment,” she stated. 

Nance continued, “The rally spoke to everyone, ‘never give up’…in softball, in life, never give up.” 

The present special education teacher at Mineola Elementary spent most of the interview about the rally talking about that team. She described a group which was very mature, incredibly talented and driven to succeed. 

As a reminder, the team would write “WIN” on their left forearms before every game. “Everyone on that team had a contribution to make,” she recalled. 

“Morgan Catron was our catcher and she knew how to run the field; M.J. (Marisa Ledkins) and Britney were completely in sync with one another at second base and shortstop; Sister was our firecracker and she challenged hitters from her position at third base.” Nance continued with a litany of remarks about each of her players: Ali and Manda and Rikkilyn and on and on…

“As a team, they listened well, and could set everything aside once they stepped onto the field to focus on one thing – winning,” Nance recounted.  

A native of Pleasanton (20 miles south of San Antonio on US 281), Nance joined Mineola Schools in 2008. A natural athlete, she always knew she wanted to coach. She considered that getting hired-on at Mineola as a teacher and coach was a perfect fit for her then and remains a perfect fit. She is now in her 16th year with the district. 

She had three years at the helm of the Lady Jackets. That included a trip to the regional tournament and two trips to the state playoffs.

“With a toddler at home and a second child on the way,” she explained, “it was the right decision to forego further coaching and report for motherly duties,” she explained.

The love of the sport, and the memory of the rally have never left her. This year she returned to coaching with the Middle School volleyballers.

And the rally?

“It flashes in my mind every time I hear about a late comeback in any sport…it is always with me,” she confessed. 

Nance not only commented on the qualities of each of her players, she also spoke of the tremendous support rendered by the community – from photographer Gene Bright to Maddie Woods’ grandmother, who made special Rolo-pretzels before each game.

She also shared the love and support she received from her grandfather Glen Caldwell, “Pawpaw”, who recently passed, but was also a part of those seasons as he would travel to Mineola just to watch her coach.

A number of players from that team went on to play collegiate ball: Catron, Galaz, Hass, Johnson, Ledkins, Skinner and Wilmoth. Galaz spent a year on the Mineola coaching staff and is now coaching in Lindale. 

Although the team has not had a reunion, Nance admits that she bumps into a few of the team out in town.

“I am so proud of these girls,” she stated, “not just what they accomplished in the sport of softball, but the success that they have realized in life.” 

Chances are, as that group navigates through life, they have never quit.