Lovejoy Regional Park was the site of some terrific state softball tournament action on Friday and Saturday and the results were especially terrific for three of the four local teams who had made the state playoffs.

In region 2-AAAA, both Whitewater and Starr’s Mill have made the Class AAAA Elite Eight. Whitewater stayed in the winner’s bracket of the Class AAAA South Sectional, getting wins over Lakeside-Evans (2-1), Dutchtown (1-0) and Starr’s Mill 3-2.

McKenzie Woody hit the game winning RBI against Lakeside-Evans in the ninth inning. Ashley Pedersen threw a no-hitter, striking out 16 batters. Jamie Saunders drove in the run against Dutchtown, while the defense played spectacularly, getting three double plays and having Ashley Schwab throw one runner out at home and two at first. Against Starr’s Mill, Schwab and Danielle Dickson drove in runs in the second and Saunders drove in the game-winner in the fifth. Dickson hit. 600 for the tournament, while Saunders hit .333 with two RBIs. Pedersen has an overall ERA of 0.58.

Starr’s Mill won their first two games of the tournament, beating Evans (2-1) and Lee County 5-1. Their loss to Whitewater put them in the loser’s bracket where they faced Lakeside-Evans for one of the final two spots to go to the elite eight. The Lady Panthers won 1-0.

McIntosh (15-12) did not fare as well in the state tournament. The Lady Chiefs fell to Greenbrier 7-1 in the opening match on Friday. On Saturday morning, McIntosh defeated Bainbridge (4-0) but lost to Dutchtown (1-0) knocking them out of the playoffs.

Whitewater (25-11) and Starr’s Mill (28-11-1) return to action on Thursday in Columbus. The Lady Wildcats will take on Cherokee (24-6-1), ranked fifth in a recent GaSports.com coaches poll, while Starr’s Mill faces Loganville (24-10). Both games are at noon and should Whitewater and Starr’s Mill win, they will face each other at 4 p.m.

In the Class AAA North Sectionals, Sandy Creek (23-13-1) opened with a 4-0 win over West Hall and followed it with a 1-0 loss to Oconee County. Kayla Folds picked up the win against West Hall, striking out 10 batters. Erin Braswell went 2-for-3 at the plate.

The Lady Patriots bounced back from the loss, defeating Carrollton (10-5), Cass (7-0) and Monroe Area (6-4) on Saturday. Against Carrollton, Ashley Williams hit a home run, while Hannah Braswell, Candace Dunn and Kayla Awbrey all had multiple hits. Braswell got the win and struck out nine betters. Folds was the winning pitcher against Cass, allowing one hit and striking out seven batters. Awbrey, Dunn and Meagan Sitton all had big hits.The Monroe Area game went nine innings. The Lady Patriots were down by three runs in the seventh inning. Hannah Braswell drove in two runs with a double and Sitton drove in the tying run. Hannah Braswell drove in the go ahead run in the ninth and Dunn drove in two more for the win.

They will open the Elite Eight in Columbus on Thursday with a 2 p.m. game against Shaw (23-10), ranked eighth in the latest GaSports.com coaches poll. If they win, they will take on the winner of Central, Carrollton and Spalding at 6 p.m.

In the Class A North Sectional, Landmark Christian lost to Social Circle (8-5) on Friday and lost to Bowdon (11-1) on Saturday. Landmark ended their season with a record of 11-15. Pitcher Ashley Chastain had 16 strikeouts in the tournament, bringing her total to 248, which break her school record of 168 for a season. She also batted well in the tournament, going 4-for-6 at the plate and driving in two runs.