Serving Barnwell County and it's neighbors since 1852
Barnwell High School’s star softball player, Jaidyn Devore, was selected to compete in the 2024 Minority Prospects Softball All-American Game, held in Montgomery, Alabama on Saturday, September 28.
The Minority Prospects Softball All-American game is a showcase for some of the country’s best minority players. Representatives from several of the HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities) were at the game scouting for new players or there to support some of their already committed players. The Players Alliance consists of current and retired professional baseball and softball players and they were one of the sponsors of the game. Former MLB players C.C. Sabathia and Curtis Granderson are on the board of the Players Alliance.
The two teams involved were called Toni’s Promise, named in honor of Toni Stone, and Mamie’s Magic, named in honor of Mamie “Peanut” Johnson. Both Stone and Johnson were former Negro League icons. Jaidyn Devore played for Toni’s Promise.
There are never winners or losers in these all-star games, but for those of you that do not subscribe to such philosophies, Toni’s Promise defeated Mamie’s Magic 8-7 in dramatic fashion. Jaidyn’s Toni’s Promise team scored the go ahead run in the final inning to collect the win. Jaidyn played well and you may have seen a clip online of Jaidyn pitching that showed exactly why she deserved to be there.
Jaidyn was asked about the experience and what the girls did outside of the game. “The game went well and it was really fun. We danced, cheered, and just had a good time. My team was called Toni’s Promise and it was like we had all played together before. The game was tied in the bottom of the 7th and my team got the winning run on the last out. Outside of the game we did some community service, helping young kids learn how to play softball and baseball. We were also able to give them free equipment,” said Devore.
In addition to the game and the community service, the Players Alliance presented the Softball Dirty Derby and the Legacy game which featured some of the best softball players in the nation.
Jaidyn’s high school head softball coach, Mike Beasley, said, “I’m proud of Jaidyn’s representation of the Barnwell softball team during the Minority Prospect All-American Softball Game. Jaidyn is a leader and she’s grown so much as a person and player. We are very proud and look forward to the upcoming season with Jaidyn’s leadership.”
The experience is certainly an unforgettable one for Jaidyn, but the timing of the trip and the hurricane weather problems made things a bit difficult for the Devore family.
“We left Friday, September 27 about 2 p.m. Trees were down on Highway 278, I-520 and I-20. We had to dodge trees from Highway 278 all the way to I-520. We were very surprised to see so many trees still down on I-20. We sat in traffic for hours because of trees being down or people running out of gas. I've never experienced anything like that before. We finally made it Alabama about 12:30 a.m. The trip usually takes about 6 1/2 hours, but took 10 1/2 hours. On Sunday morning, we left Alabama about 11 a.m. Things were going great until we got to Conyers, Ga. Traffic was backed up for miles due to the BioLab chemical fire. Shelter in place and evacuation orders were issued for that area. The smoke from the fire could be seen for miles. Again, we sat in traffic. Every exit we tried to take was detoured. Eventually we found a way back towards Atlanta to get off on the Greenville exit. We ended up going through Anderson to try to get back to Barnwell. All of the small towns we had to go through had no electricity and trees were down on both sides of the road. We had to travel across so many power lines that had fallen. We finally got back to Barnwell about 11:30 p.m. Thank God we made it safely back home,” said Jaidyn’s mother, Felicia Devore.
Despite the travel issues, the game and the overall experiences in Montgomery were worth the minor, well, make that major inconveniences. Jaidyn was honored and got to play in an All-American game. She got to help teach younger kids about the sport that she loves. She made new friends and possible future opponents.
Jaidyn has committed to play softball for the Bison of Howard University. We wish Jaidyn a great senior season for the Barnwell Warhorses and for her future as a Howard University Bison!
