Isabella Chastain will remain in state at the next level when she takes the softball field for the Gordon State College Highlanders.
Chastain is a 2021 Gilmer High graduate and capped her Lady Cat career with plenty of accolades. Gordon State was the first to arrive on the recruiting scene ahead of Chastain’s junior season, and she verbally committed shortly after.
“I didn’t talk to many other schools because Gordon State is where I wanted to go,” Chastain said. “It’s pretty far away but not too far and it’s pretty small. I decided I wanted to go to a juco (junior college) because then I could transfer to a bigger school. I figured it would be the smartest way to play.”
Gordon State is located south of Atlanta in Barnsville, just under 140 miles from Ellijay.
“The campus is pretty small,” Chastain said. “It’s not that teeny tiny, and we walked the whole thing when I visited. I really liked the dorms, it’s in a small town and I felt really safe.”
Chastain credits her dad Mark for being a constant source of support and encouragement during her softball journey.
“I kind of go to him for everything,” she said. “He’s spent loads of money on me and he’s made sacrifices to travel with me, take me to camps, practices, games, lessons ... everything. He’s really helped me through all of it.”
An early start
Softball has been a consistent part of Chastain’s life over the past 14 years. She started playing in the local rec leagues as soon as she was able. She made her debut on the travel scene with the North Georgia Crush when she was 7.
Chastain continued to play travel ball through middle school and high school. The travel season essentially runs year-round aside from the school season in the late summer and early fall months.
“We get a couple weeks off, but we play in tournaments nearly every weekend,” Chastain said. “In the summer we play some weeklong tournaments usually with a couple games a day. For weekend tournaments, we usually play around six games.”
Over the past three years, Chastain has been a member of East Cobb softball teams. The sprawling Marietta facility is a well-known destination for baseball and softball players alike.
“We face very difficult competition sometimes and it’s very challenging,” Chastain said. “I really like that because it pushes me to do better and do my best. My coach is actually the one that got me into Gordon State. He got their coach to come and watch me.”
Chastain noted that travel ball has helped her manage emotions and deal with adverse situations.
“I meet so many different people every year,” she said. “It’s definitely helped me learn how to deal with people and deal with things I can’t control like umpires or the other team. Sometimes it just pushes me to stay humble and not overreact to things out of my control.”
At GHS, Chastain earned four varsity letters. The Lady Cats missed out on the state tournament her freshman and sophomore seasons. In 2019, Gilmer secured the region’s No. 4 seed and faced region champion Madison County in the first round.
Gilmer lost the first two games of the three-game series and the Cats were eliminated.
Chastain earned a spot on the all-region second team as a junior. She tossed 118 innings, struck out 62 and posted a 3.67 ERA. Chastain proved to be a valuable defender as well and posted a .958 fielding percentage.
GHS continued its winning ways in 2020 with a region championship. The Cats posted a 19-6 overall record and were 17-1 versus region opponents.
However, GHS drew Ringgold in the first round, and the Tigers were the defending Class 3A state champions. Ringgold not only upset the Cats and knocked them out of the tournament, but they went on to win the next four series to repeat as state champions.
“It was pretty fun,” Chastain said of the season. “We were pretty excited about it and worked hard all season to get to state. Then when we got there, it was a little harder than we expected and we underestimated it.”
Chastain was named to the all-region first team and voted Region 7-3A pitcher of the year.
She posted an 11-3 record and 1.80 earned-run average in 16 appearances. She struck out 123, walked 20 and allowed 21 earned runs in 81 2/3 innings.
Chastain took the field Nov. 18 for a final time in her Gilmer jersey as she was selected to pitch in the Georgia Dugout Club’s Senior All-Star Game.
“I think one of my favorite things about high school was getting the opportunity to play in that all-state game,” Chastain said. “That was a real amazing experience for me.”
Chastain will take a wide array of pitches to Gordon State that include a fastball, change-up, curve ball, rise ball, screw ball, as well as a “screw drop” and a “drop curve.” She contends that her best pitches are a curve ball and rise ball and discussed what part of her game she wants to improve before she suits up for the Highlanders.
“I want to improve my mental game,” she said. “Sometimes I get in my head a lot and start to aim the ball. I feel like that doesn’t make anything better so I just try to clear my mind, and I’ve been working really hard on that.”
Chastain discussed her academic priorities and her future plans, saying, “I want to get my associate in biology then my bachelor probably in something else maybe ... possibly biology as well. Then I’m going to take that and go to Life University because I want to be a chiropractor.”