Coach Carol Mitchell’s Gibbs Eagles eliminated the Grainger Grizzlies 7-0 in a TSSAA Class AA sectional softball game in Corryton, Tennessee, on Friday, May 17, 2019. (Photo by Danny Parker)
By Dave Link
Girls softball is something special in the Gibbs community.
Nobody knows it better than Gibbs High softball coach Carol Mitchell, in her 25th season as head coach.
Gibbs softball is dear to Mitchell’s heart. She was Carol Zachary when she pitched for the Lady Eagles under former coach Dennis Ray and won state championships in 1983, ‘84, ’86, and ’87.
Mitchell assisted Ray for one season, took over as head coach the next year in 1994, and continued building a dynasty started by Ray in 1981.
Gibbs (41-9) will make its 33rd state appearance on Tuesday when it plays Forrest (33-5) in the first round of the Class AA bracket in Murfreesboro.
The Lady Eagles have won 10 state titles, and Mitchell has been aboard for nine of them, either as a player or coach.
She’s coached Gibbs to five state titles – three in a row from 1998 to 2000 and in 2012 and 2017 – and she won her 900thgame earlier this season. Only twice in Mitchell’s 25 years as coach has Gibbs missed the state tournament.
As the Lady Eagles begin their quest for another state title, 5Star Preps chatted with Mitchell about a variety of topics. Here’s what she had to say:
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