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Teams seeking momentum as region tournaments near

By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizen.com

By the time you read this, the regular season of high school softball will be over and teams will be preparing for their region tournaments. The goal will be to secure one of the top four spots in the region tournament, earning the team a bid to the state playoffs in their respective classifications. Much like the Major League Baseball playoffs, everybody’s record goes back to 0-0 and anything can happen.

Over the past week, Starr’s Mill went 6-2. They defeated Fayette County 6-0 last Thursday as Amanda Howett threw a no-hitter and Katie Ison and Lindsay Walker each went 2-for-3 at the plate. Ison drove in three runs and Walker drove in two. On Friday, Starr’s Mill began play in the Brookwood tournament. They started with a 3-1 loss to Greenbrier and followed it with a 7-2 win over North Forsyth. Walker drove in two runs in the win and Ison and Lynsey Tedford each added one.

Starr’s Mill outlasted Central Gwinnett 3-2 with Walker and Tedford each driving in runs and Holly Oglesbee picking up a big hit. They followed that win with a 1-0 victory over Peachtree Ridge. Oglesbee drove in the winning run and Jordan Aszman went 2-for-3 at the plate. Howett gave up two hits and struck out six in the win. The next game was a 3-1 win over Grayson in extra innings. The two teams entered the eighth inning deadlocked at 0-0 but Starr’s Mill got three runs as Cate Rosa drove in one run and Howett drove in two. Peurifoy pitched a gem, giving up one hit and striking out eight batters.

After the Grayson game, Starr’s Mill got a 5-1 win over Union Grove, ranked first in AAAAA in the most recent GaSports.com coaches poll. Rachel Watson, Michelle Ramsden and Lauren Marchman each drove in runs in the win. On Tuesday, Starr’s Mill picked up a region loss falling to Newnan 2-1. Oglesbee and Ison each went 2-for-3 at the plate but the Lady Panthers failed to generate much of an offense.

“They executed and we didn’t,” said Coach Mark Williamson. “They played a perfect game.”

Starr’s Mill, currently ranked fourth in AAAAA, played at Northgate, ranked fourth in AAAA, last night after the paper went to press. They will host Fayette County at McCurry Park in Fayetteville at 5 p.m. on Monday in the region 4-AAAAA tournament.

McIntosh, which picked up an extra-inning region victory over Sandy Creek, lost to Chapel Hill 2-0 on Tuesday. The Lady Chiefs left six runners on base, including one time where the bases were loaded and there was only one out. Coach Kristy Lewis is pleased with the way her team is playing though. Pitcher Morgan Kidd is battling a nagging injury and has an ERA of 0.78, Lisaira Daniels is getting on base consistently, as have Kelsey Dawson and Holly Houghton, and catcher Amelia Beach is leading the team in batting average (.371), slugging percentage (.581) and RBIs (13).

“We just have to execute with runners in scoring position,” said Lewis.

The Lady Chiefs will open the region tournament on Monday at McCurry Park with a game at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. Their opponent is not yet known.

Sandy Creek and Whitewater both payed in the Milton tournament over the weekend. The Lady Patriots went 2-3, while the Lady Wildcats went 3-2. Sandy Creek’s games were all shutouts. They defeated Northview 2-0 and Centennial 4-0 but lost to Northwest Whitfield 5-0, Gordon Lee 4-0 and Monroe Area 3-0. On Tuesday, Sandy Creek lost a region game to Villa Rica 1-0. Whitewater defeated Bowdon 3-0 in eight innings, beat Ridgleand 1-0 and trion 12-0 before losing to Northwest Whitfield 5-2 and Gordon Lee 5-0.

Whitewater played their final region game of the season last night at Woodward Academy.

Landmark Christian picked up a 15-10 region win over Our Lady of Mercy last Thursday but fell later that weekend 14-1 to Eagle’s Landign Christian Academy. Our Lady of Mercy followed the loss to Landmark with losses to Galloway, 21-9, and Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy, 11-1.

Landmark and Our Lady of Mercy begin region tournament play tomorrow at Wilkerson Mill Park.