Pace Softball Needed An Ace To Replace Jayden Heavener. Hannah Demarcus Has Filled That Role

Coaches from the Pace softball team had a legitimate question to ask after the 2024 state championship and into the offseason.

Who was going to replace Jayden Heavener? After all, she was won the "Triple Crown" of Player of the Year awards from Florida Dairy Farmers,MaxPreps and Gatorade. Heavener was the main key in the Patriots' 2024 championship win, throwing a two-hit shutout with 16 strikeouts, and adding a two-run home run for the contest's only scores.

Heavener, just on the pitching side, closed out the 2024 season with a career-best 322 strikeouts in the season, totaling 1,174 strikeouts over four years. She had a career ERA of 0.67 with 27 no-hitters and four perfect games.

Even entering the 2025 season, there were some question marks, including who was going to be the next team's ace in the pitcher's circle? Outside of Heavener, Pace also graduated Mallory Baker. In three years, Baker tallied 209 strikeouts, 81 of which came her senior year in just 39 innings pitched.

As Pace's campaign has rolled along, including a Region 1-6A quarterfinal win over Fletcher on May 8, the Patriots have the heir apparent to Heavener. It hasn't been a secret all year long, either.

Welcome to the show, Hannah DeMarcus.

"Honestly, I knew Hannah had the potential to do it. Jayden’s shoes are extremely hard to fill – she made them hard to fill by doing what she did last year. Even Mallory, too. It’s pretty hard to find a solid one-two (pitching combination) like that. Hannah’s done exactly what we’ve asked of her," Pace head coach Lexi Alexander said after the quarterfinal win. "As a sophomore, it’s pretty impressive what she’s done."

Impressive is an understatement. The sophomore, in her first varsity season, has already broken Heavener's single-season strikeout record. In fact, she did it during the regular season. After the region quarterfinal game, DeMarcus is now at a remarkable 364 strikeouts.

"I’ve just been spinning it through the zone. Batters have been swinging and missing," DeMarcus said. "My offense and defense have been helping me get the job done.”

Of the 163 innings thrown by Pace pitchers this season, DeMarcus has taken the brunt of the at 148. That speaks to DeMarcus' stamina as the season goes on.

"I just stay in my legs more. That’s been a big thing for me. When I was younger, I would throw all arms. Then taking it one pitch at a time," DeMarcus said. "In-season, it’s a day off. I’ll sit in a chair and just chill. Out-of-season, I put in the work to prepare. I think it’s definitely paid off."

'A lot of confidence'

With the open spot to fill for Pace's No. 1 pitcher role, there were four or five pitchers that could've taken the spot, Alexander noted.

Even with DeMarcus' prowess entering the season – she was ranked the No. 8 pitcher in the nation for the class of 2027 in May 2024 – there wasn't a guarantee of her taking over the role.

"Hannah’s the one who took it and ran with it," Alexander said. "We try not to put too much pressure on it."

“There was only a little bit of pressure," DeMarcus said. "But I feel like I’m doing pretty good at filling Jayden’s shoes, and stepping into that role. ... I knew in the back of my mind I’d be replacing Jayden, but I was prepared for anything.”

In DeMarcus' first varsity game, she struck out 19 of 24 batters as the Patriots beat Northview, 3-0, on Feb. 18. Her lowest strikeout total in one game is still notably 10 strikeouts, and that was in just four innings against Gulf Breeze in a run-rule win on Feb. 27.

Conversely, DeMarcus' finest outing, perhaps, was a 12-inning no-hitter against Niceville on March 27, where she struck out an astounding 33 of 36 batters faced, allowing just one walk in the game.

"It was just one pitch at a time. I didn’t know I hit 33 strikeouts until after the game," DeMarcus said. "It was an awesome achievement. But it was one pitch at a time. That’s how I treat every game.”

According to MaxPreps, DeMarcus is second in the nation in strikeouts, trailing just Emily Needham from Alabama who's played in significantly more games. She's No. 4 in Florida for ERA (0.33) and leads the nation in no-hitters with nine, including the game against Fletcher where she struck out 14 of 15 batters in the run-rule win.

Additionally, DeMarcus is averaging 16.5 strikeouts per game (17.22 per seven innings) and 2.5 strikeouts per inning.

Need there be a reminder that DeMarcus is, again, just a sophomore?

"Hannah has a lot of confidence, which I didn’t really expect out of her. She just goes out there and looks comfortable. It’s nice. We can pretty much call whatever we want with her. She throws pretty much the same pitches as Jayden," Alexander said. "Having that composure, as a sophomore, girls can be girls sometimes and can be immature at times. But Hannah’s not one of those that’s immature. She goes up there and knows she can throw a strike in any pitch count.”

Having an offensive-filled team that's averaged 6.7 runs per game has also helped DeMarcus, she added. As soon as the Patriots have built enough of lead – such as the seven-run first inning against Fletcher that featured two home runs – that allows DeMarcus to get comfortable at the circle and just pitch.

It helps the defense when, for example, one ball gets into play by the opposition, as was the case against Fletcher. The final out was a hard-hit grounder to shortstop Gracie Ueberroth, who made the play and preserved the abbreviated perfect game.

"If she doesn’t strike everybody out, that’s why we work on defense, making sure we can make the plays behind our pitchers," Alexander said. "It’s nice having both Abby (McLean) and Hannah who can do it, but it’s Hannah who’s taken it and ran with it."

Heavener vs. DeMarcus

It's not the easiest question to answer when asked to compare a player like Heavener to DeMarcus when the now-college freshman at LSU was a sophomore at Pace.

It was important for DeMarcus to remember that she's her own pitcher, not trying to be exactly like DeMarcus.

Alexander, who's been with the Pace softball team since 2022 but took over as head coach during Heavener's sophomore season in 2023, said DeMarcus "is pretty close" to Heavener as a sophomore.

"I know some bigger schools are looking at Hannah right now, specifically one in the SEC," Alexander said. "She’s got potential to be playing against Jayden in a few years. That’d be pretty cool.”

Alexander said both DeMarcus and Heavener have a pretty similar pitching repertoire, making calling games fairly similar to last season. It also helps that Lana Gonzales, the Patriots' catcher, caught for Heavener, as well. Heavener might have a slight edge on speed by a mile an hour or two, Alexander added.

"Lana and I are really close. Lana does a great job getting the rise ball, because she’s seen it with Jayden," DeMarcus said. "We just crack it up in the bullpen all the time. We have a really close relationship.”

"Jayden hit 68 a couple times last year when we radar-gunned her. We don’t have the gun on them every day. But Hannah’s ball moves, she’s got the speed. It’s nasty up there," Alexander said. "The first couple games that Lana caught (for DeMarcus), she was like, ‘Coach, she’s pretty close to Jayden’s speed.’ That’s pretty dang good if she can do that."

Continued Alexander: "As long as Hannah stays in shape and does what she needs to do, we’re going to be OK for the next couple years.”

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pace softball's strong pitching led by sophomore Hannah DeMarcus