Championship Softball Saturday: Mount de Sales takes title in GHSA, Westfield repeats in GISA,Windsor takes AA
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
Mount de Sales blanks Wesleyan for Class A Private title
Jordyn Partain has been money for Mount de Sales all year, either in the circle or batter's box.
Saturday, she was big money.
Partain struck out 10 with no walks while throwing a three-hitter to lead Mount de Sales to a 2-0 win over Wesleyan for the GHSA Class A Private state softball title in Columbus.
It's the first GHSA state title for the school since returning to the organization a few years ago.
The Cavs end the season at 22-8, having gone through the weekend in Columbus undefeated. MdS topped Stratford 3-2, Wesleyan 4-2, George Walton 2-1 and then the Wolves again on Saturday.
Mount de Sales upended the defending champions, who went 4-0 in last year's championship tournament, which included a 3-0 win over Mount de Sales in the second game in Columbus. The Cavs were then quickly eliminated 14-0 by Tattnall, which lost earlier Saturday.
The Cavs got, as it turned out, all they needed in the first.
Henderson Hurdle was hit by a pitch, and that was followed by two outs. Hurdle advanced to second on a passed ball and third on Partain's ground out. She came in on an error on a ground ball from Sarah Hatcher.
Mount de Sales added an insurance run in the third, Hurdle again getting things going with a leadoff single to left, again followed by two outs, one of which pushed Hurdle to second.
She sped in on Hatcher's single to right.
And it was on Partain's arm from then on. She retired Wesleyan in order in the fourth and sixth, allowing a leadoff single the fifth and following that with a 1-2-3 inning.
And a one-out single in the seventh was followed by a fielder's choice ground and then a game-ending strikeout, Mount de Sales accounting for both of Wesleyan’s losses this season..
Photo: Westfield
Westfield tops John Milledge in two for third straight GISA championship
The Hornets apparently wanted to get home and celebrate.
Westfield exploded for eight runs in the first two innings to take control an route to a 12-4 six-inning win over John Milledge in the second game of the best-of-three GISA Class AAA championship series at Mercer’s Sikes Field.
The Hornets won the opener 3-1.
Emma Williams led the offensive barrage with a 3-for-4 game, scoring three times and driving in four runs. Sydney Langson was a busy girl, also going 3 for 4 with an RBI while getting the win in the circle in the circle.
Saide Hayes, Ellie Williams, and Marena Knowles added two hits apiece for Westfield, Knowles and Brooke Corlee driving in two runs each.
Knowles and both Williams belted homers.
The four-run second put Westfield in control.
Carliegh Knowles led off with a triple and scored on Hayes’ sac fly to right. Then Ellie Williams homored, follow a hit batter later by a homer by Emma Williams.
And just like that, it was 8-2.
The Trojans kept fighting and added two runs in the third on three straight singles from 18, 14 and 4, and a ground out.
But Westfield got one back in the fourth and then three in the fifth on Marena Knowles’ two-run homer and an RBI double from Langdon.
In the opener, the Hornets put up two in the first and Emma Williams made it stand with an efficient three-strikeout, two-walk four-hitter. Westfield added a run in the fourth and JMA scored in the top of the fifth, - on a single, error, walk, and wild pitch - to close the gap. But Williams gave up only a single in the sixth and in the seventh innings, getting a game-ending double play.
Westfield beat Bulloch in last year’s championship series, and Pinewood Christian in 2017. John Milledge lost to Pinewood Christian in the 2016 championship.
Windsor take GISA title in a battle of walk-offs
Three games, three walk-offs, two in the eighth inning.
The last one went to Windsor.
The Knight needed two to win, and got them, thanks to a double and error to beat Southwest Georgia 4-3 and take the GISA Class AA state title.
Kate Hattaway led off the top of the eighth for Southwest Georgia with a triple to score Taylor Bruner- placed on second – easily. But the Warriors went down 1-2-3 after that.
Lily Kilgore was put on second in Windsor’s eighth, and she advanced on a passed ball, scoring on Lindsey Arrington’s double to tie it. Then Jordan Moss’ bunt was thrown away, allowing Arrington to cruise in to win the third walk-off of the day in the series, and second in an eighth inning.
Josie Spradley and Lola Newberry had two hits each for the Knights, who won the title in 2016. Sierra Ussery was huge with 12 strikeouts and two walks in eight innings, allowing eight hits and throwing 119 pitches.
In the finale, Windsor took a 1-0 lead in the third on a Newberry single and error on Marissa Arrington’s bunt.
SW Ga. took the lead with two in the fourth, Windsor tying it in the fifth on Spradley’s double, an error on Newberry’s grounder, and then a passed ball.
And it stayed a pitchers duel, Southwest Georgia falling on its fifth error of the game.
The Knights returned the walk-off favor in Game 2, and it was harder than what the Warriors did in the opener. Spradley drew a bases-loaded walk - after a walk to Ussery, Chloe Jackson reaching on an error, and Brinsley Smith singling - to tie it at 2, and Newberry waited out the pitching for another bases-loaded game-winning walk-off walk.
Ussery whiffed nine with a walk and six hits in the complete-game win, the Knights winning with two fewer hits than the Warriors.
Windsor took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning of the opener only for Southwest Georgia to tie it in the bottom of the sixth. Then Mary Mac Cooper blooped a 2-1 pitch just to the outfield grass to bring in Annalee Lockhart, placed at second to open the inning and sacrificed to third, easily scored the game-winner.
Windsor was held to two hits, both by leadoff batter Chandler. Windsor still stranded eight runners, thanks to five SGA walks. Ussery threw a four-hitter for Windsor, striking out 12 with two walks. SGA's Savana Bradford fanned eight.
Saturday
GISA
Championships
Class AAA
Westfield 3, John Milledge 1; Westfield 12, JohnMilledge 4
Class AA
Southwest Georgia 2, Windsor 1, 8 innings; Windsor 3, Southwest Georgia 2; Windsor 4, Southwest Georgia 3, 8 innings
GHSA
Class 5A
Harris County 4, Jones County 1; Jones County eliminated
Class AA
Bremen 3, Lamar County 2; Lamar County eliminated
Class A Private
Wesleyan 2, Tattnall 1; Tattnall eliminated
Tattnall outhit Wesleyan by three and played error-free, but couldn't convert it into enough offense, stranding five more runners than the Wolves. Wesleyan led 1-0 after one on a leadoff homer.
The Wolves picked up a two-out run in the third on a triple and single, but Tattnall cut the deficit in half in the fourth on singles from Kenna Epps and L Paul around a fielder's choice grounder, Courtney Ball scoring on Paul's single.
But Tattnall left the bases loaded. The Trojan filled the bases up again in the top of the seventh, with two outs, but the game ended on a fielder's choice grounder to third.
Jaelyn Darley had two of Tattnall's hits.
Epps gave up five hits and a walk, against no strikeouts. The Trojans earned two walks but struck out seven times.