One of the primary reasons the Whitewater Lady Wildcats have reached, and remained, atop the Class AAAA rankings is ace Whitney Toler.

Toler just missed pitching a perfect game, turning in a 10-strikeout, no-hit performance to lead Whitewater to its first victory over the Northgate Lady Vikings in school history, 9-0 in a six-inning quarterfinal game in the Region 5-AAAA tournament at Meade Field in Peachtree City.

Despite battling a virus the last few days, Toler was masterful, consistently working the outside corner of the plate and getting Northgate’s impatient batters to swing at pitches out of the strike zone. She also effectively mixed in her riseball.

Toler retired 18 of the 19 batters she faced. Only a walk by Chelsea Metzger in the bottom of the second inning prevented Toler from recording a perfect game.

Toler had at least one strikeout in each of the first five innings, and she struck out two batters each in the second through fifth innings.

“Tonight, this was big for her. She was on,” Whitewater coach Stacey Smith said of Toler. “She was battling some type of bug. She threw up during practice. She was recovering, but she still pitched a great game for us. She was definitely on on the corners, and her riseball was good tonight.”

In the teams’ previous meeting this season, Northgate held Whitewater to one hit in a 2-0 victory. Whitewater’s bats would not be silenced a second time.

The Lady Wildcats battered Northgate’s pitching, pounding out 12 hits. All but two came against Northgate’s ace left-hander, Ashley Anderson.

Whitewater’s Jamie Saunders just missed hitting for the cycle, going 3-for-4 with four RBI and a triple, double and single.

Disappointed with her hitting performance in her team’s 5-4 loss to Sandy Creek last week, Saunders worked diligently on her hitting between that game and Monday. She took 1,200 swings against pitches thrown by her father.

“Her dad said, ‘You will hit,’” Smith said. “Her hard work paid off.”

MacKenzie Mosley also had a three-hit game for Whitewater, going 3-for-3 with an RBI.

Whitewater scored all the runs it would need in the first inning.

Leadoff hitter McKenzie Woody was hit by a pitch on her foot, and Ashley Schwab followed with a single to right field.

One out later, Saunders delivered her first run-scoring hit of the game, a two-run double to right field.

An RBI groundout by Nikki Montesanti in the second increased Whitewater’s lead to 3-0.

Whitewater scored two runs in the fifth and four in the sixth to put away Northgate for god.

Saunders, who had reached on a fielder’s choice, scored on a headfirst slide following a comebacker hit by Lauren Williamon, and Montesanti hit an RBI single up the middle in the fifth to make it 5-0.

Saunders’ second extra-base hit, a two-run triple to deep right field, Kaitlyn Johnson’s RBI single to left field and Mosley’s RBI single to right field in the sixth completed the scoring.

Toler retired the side in the bottom half of the inning to bring the game-ending mercy rule into effect.

The Sandy Creek Lady Patriots also played a quarterfinal game, easily defeating Alexander, 9-1, in six innings.

Creek avenged a 7-6 loss to Alexander during the regular season. The Lady Patriots used that earlier loss as motivation to silence criticism they have been hearing.

“Oh my gosh, I cannot even tell you how motivated they were,” Creek coach Lisa Pearce said. “They were tired of hearing from people that they were just getting lucky. They want to be known for the well-deserved, respected team that they are. The girls were very fired up knowing Alexander beat them earlier this season.”

Creek pitcher Hannah Braswell got off to a rough start in the first three innings, walking five batters. But she struck out five batters, and her defense was solid, preventing Alexander from scoring.

Alexander left runners in scoring position in each of the first three innings.

Kayla Folds came in during the third inning and slammed the door on Alexander, striking out two batters with the bases loaded.

She faced 16 batters, allowing only three hits, one run and one walk. She struck out five.

“I hope this is the turning point for her,” Pearce said of Folds. “At the end of the season, she starts to peak, I think.”

Perhaps even more impressive than Creek’s pitching was its hitting. Numerous players contributed at the plate for Creek.

Leadoff hitter Meagan Sitton went 3-for-4 with an RBI, Kayla Awbrey went 2-for-4 with a game-high four RBI and Candace Dunn had a pair of hits.

Andrea Dalton hit a two-run double, Alice Boone started a rally with a two-run double and Mackenzie Arlt went 1-for-3.

Mallory Muncher delivered the game-ending hit, an RBI single in the sixth that brought the mercy rule into effect.

Whitewater will play Sandy Creek today at 7:30 p.m. at Meade Field. It will be a rematch of the teams’ regular-season finale last week, when Creek defeated Whitewater to secure the top seed in the region tournament.

In another game Tuesday, Starr’s Mill defeated Fayette County 10-2 in five innings. The loss ended Fayette County’s season.

Northgate handed Fayette its first loss Monday in the double-elimination tournament, 15-0.

Five players had hits for Starr's Mill against Fayette: Alexis Evans (2-for-3, two RBI), Brittany Bomba (1-for-2, one RBI), Mandy Pfannenstiel (1-for-3, one RBI), Karley Aszman (1-for-4, one RBI) and Megan Szczepanski (1-for-3, one RBI).

Shelby English was the winning pitcher for Starr's Mill. She struck out five and gave up two hits, two runs and five walks in five innings.

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