BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Softball has been a part of Savannah Channell’s life for as long as she can remember, but the University of North Florida shortstop learned this past season is that the sport doesn’t define who she is as a person.
Channell, a 2019 Keystone Heights High School graduate, said she was frustrated at times during the 2023 season. Her batting average fell to .200 after she averaged .267 in her two previous seasons (one each at UNF and Liberty) and partial COVID season (at Liberty). She also had a four-game stretch in which she rode the bench.
After her accomplishments at Liberty, where she began her college journey, Channell admitted she arrived at UNF taking things for granted. There was no way she wouldn’t automatically be a starter. There was no way she wouldn’t continue her success.
“That’s bad to say, but then I got a reality check,” Channell said.
Channell, the daughter of Bobby Channell and Christy Hedgecock, said the result of her struggles was that she “truly found Christ.”
“I always knew who Christ was, but I really felt who He was to me,” she said. “I started leading all of us through prayer before every game and just trying to share the feelings I was having.”
Those feelings were of joy. They were there when she had a good game. They were there when she had a bad game.
“All my teammates have noticed it,” Channell said. “I’m just a happier person. No matter what happened, I would have a smile. If I struck out, I’d laugh it off.”
Don’t misunderstand Channell. She still has a passion for the sport. She’s going to do her best to make tremendous improvements in 2024, which will be her last season. She would love to eventually get into coaching softball.
It’s just that now, she doesn’t measure the entirety of her life by what happens on the field. Channell said, “Ultimately, only Christ can define me.”
COVID strikes
When Channell left Keystone to go to Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, she was excited. Excited about an independence that comes after graduating from high school and leaving home. Excited about meeting new people. Excited about experiencing the game she loved at a higher level.
She was batting .298 (third on the team) and had started 22 of 23 games before the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the season being canceled.
“We went through just a time of uncertainty,” Channell said. “Prayer was our number-one thing.”
Channell remembers being confined to the house she was living in because of snowstorm.
“You couldn’t go anywhere. You just had the TV on, and you were wondering what was happening in the world,” she said, adding, “I just had to stay in Virginia and just hope my family was OK.”
The semester consisted of online classes, Zoom sessions and quarantines.
“We had COVID testing two to three times a week,” Channell said. “You had to be tracked. If someone did test positive, they had to trace you all the way back to the whole week previous — where you had been, what you did, who you came into contact with.”
Players couldn’t participate in practices with their teammates. They couldn’t go to the weight room to work out.
“You could run. That was about it,” Channell said. “Being away from home — it was not ideal at all, but I knew that if I wanted to play the game that bad, I would just have to stick it out and wait.”
Big stage, big hit
Putting the lost COVID season behind them, the Liberty Flames won the ASUN Conference championship to qualify for the NCAA regionals.
Channell had some memorable at-bats that season. She went 2 for 3 with four RBI in a 6-0 win over Lipscomb and had three RBI in a 7-2 win over New Mexico State. At the Bama Bash, hosted by Alabama, Channell hit a solo homer in a 6-3 loss to the Crimson Tide and a two-run shot in an 8-5 loss to LSU.
The performance in the Alabama tournament had her feeling confident heading into Liberty’s conference schedule, but Channell described her play against ASUN opponents as “decent.” She said her at-bats weren’t as good as she wanted, but she knew she’d always have her defense.
“I really take pride in my defense,” she said.
Channell was struggling mightily in the NCAA Knosville Regional. She struck out in all four-at-bats in an opening 4-3 loss to James Madison. Liberty bounced back to defeat Eastern Kentucky 5-1 to keep its season alive, but Channell struck out in both of her at-bats in that game.
The Flames’ next opponent was regional host Tennessee. When she saw that she was still in the lineup, Channell said she asked Head Coach Dot Richardson why. Richardson told her about a teammate she had on the Olympic team she played on who struggled at the plate unless it was a big game. Then, she always came through.
Richardson had a similar feeling about Channell. Channell said her coach told her, “I don’t know what it is, but something’s just on my heart, and I think it’s the Holy Spirit saying you’re going to do something great this game.”
Something great didn’t happen right away as Channell struck out in her first at-bat against the Vols. The second time she stepped to the plate, Liberty had the bases loaded with two outs in the fourth inning. Channell said the count was 2-2 when she told herself, “I’m just going to react to this pitch. It doesn’t matter what happens. I’m just going to react and trust it.”
She drove that pitch over the fence in left for the first-ever grand slam in Liberty’s postseason history.
“It gives me chills all the time,” Channell said of thinking about the play. “I would definitely say that in my career, that’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever had.”
It’s not so much the hit that sticks with her, but the story of her coach feeling that the Holy Spirit was telling her that Channell was going to experience success in that game.
“I just think that’s awesome,” Channell said.
Liberty went on to beat Tennessee 6-4 before being eliminated in an 8-5 loss to James Madison.
For the season, Channell batted .256 with 40 hits, 27 runs scored and 29 RBI. She hit four home runs and three doubles, playing in all but one of Liberty’s 59 games. She had 57 starts.
Channell was named to the ASUN All-Freshman Team and earned second-team ASUN All-Conference honors.
During that season, Channell also got to play against sister Rylin Hedgecock, who was playing for Arkansas.
“We beat them, so that was awesome,” Channell said.
It added up to a pretty good freshman season, but it wasn’t enough to keep Channell at Liberty.
Joining the Ospreys
She made some lifelong memories at Liberty and was part of a “great group of girls,” but Channell said she just wasn’t happy there. So she entered the transfer portal and played in the Florida Gulf Coast League in the summer of 2021. Channell said the summer league was great in that it allowed her to be seen by college coaches.
Channell visited UNF and discovered an environment that felt like home and offered more to do than just play softball.
“I toured UNF, and I just loved it,” she said. “It offers maybe not as big of a program (as Liberty), but there’s a lot of social life there. I’ve really enjoyed that.”
The life of a student-athlete is still “hectic and crazy” at UNF, where you balance your time between athletics and academics. Channell said the only thing that’s different for her now is that since she’s an older player with a high enough grade-point average, she has no study hall requirement.
“I have the same amount of classes and the practice routine,” she said.
In her first season UNF, Channell played in all but two of the Ospreys’ 59 games, with 55 starts. She batted .252 with 27 runs and 23 RBI. Channell was tied for second on the team in doubles with 10. She also hit three homers and drew a team-high 34 walks, which helped her finish with a team-high on-base percentage of .412.
The Ospreys played for the ASUN championship — just the second championship game in program history. The opponent was Liberty, which, of course, made for another memorable moment.
“You can’t really describe that feeling,” said Channell, whose team lost 9-0. “It’s like excitement and nerves and ‘I’m going to throw up’ all in one setting.” She added, “It felt like a lot of pressure, but I loved being able to do that and just be a part of something like that.”
Some other 2022 highlights included driving in three runs in two games, one of which was a 12-0 win over Georgia Southern in which Channell hit a two-run homer.
She had four games in which had had two RBI. In one (an 11-2 win over Jacksonville), Channell went 3 for 3 with a two-run homer and double. In another (a 5-4 loss to Jacksonville State), she went 3 for 4 with a two-run homer and a double.
Channell also got the chance to play against sister Tori Hedgecock and her Mercer team.
This past season, Channell played in 47 of the team’s 53 games, with 46 starts. She batted .200 with 15 runs and 10 RBI. Channell had five doubles and one homer and was second on the team in walks with 23.
One of her highlight games was in a 7-7 tie against North Alabama in which she went 3 for 4 with a double and three RBI. Another game of note was an 8-0 win over FAU in which she went 2 for 4 with two RBI.
Goals
Though she’s found happiness regardless of her on-the-field performance, Channell is striving to boosting her performance in 2024. She said she wants to become the player her teammates know will come through in clutch situations.
“I would say this summer I’ve hit the gym more than ever. I’m really trying to get way stronger just because that’s going to aid me when it comes to my hitting,” Channell said, adding, “I’m hitting more and more than I ever have. My end goal is I want to have one of the highest batting averages of my career. Obviously, it’s my last year. I want to sell out.”
She also wants to become more of a leader and be someone her teammates can approach for any reason and feel comfortable talking to.
“I just want to be the best teammate I can for everybody this year,” Channell said.
Channell graduates in August with her bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Administration and Interdisciplinary Studies. She’s participating in an internship with Beyond 90, a Jacksonville nonprofit that provides support services, skills-building classes and housing for refugees.
“I just want to be able to help people,” Channell said. “Maybe not hands-on, but if I can be behind the scenes and at least know that I’m helping somebody, that’s what I want to do.”
In the future, she eyes working in medical sales or healthcare administration. First, though, she plans to work on earning a master’s degree.
Something Channell would also be interested in doing is coaching. She’s getting the chance to run some camps at UNF this summer and hopes to be a graduate-assistant coach at UNF.
Channell said the game’s given her a lot, so she’d like to in turn give back to others.
“I don’t doubt for a second that that’s something I’d want to do in the future,” she said of coaching. “Just being able to share my knowledge is the biggest thing for me. I feel like it’s a waste if I don’t.”
