Saturday's GHSA state softball: ACE finishes perfect season in perfect way, with a state championship
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
The dream season ended perfectly for the team perfect throughout a dream season.
ACE clicked in all three phases and rolled to a 7-0 win over perennial state finalist Gordon Lee to take the GHSA Class A Public state softball championship Saturday in Columbus.
The Gryphons finish 31-0, having won 5-2, 3-0, 5-2, and 7-0 in the four-game run at the championship tournament, after outscoring Manchester and Bryan County 38-5 in a pair of two-game series sweeps to open the state postseason.
ACE knocked off bigger programs during the season - Mary Persons, Upson-Lee, Woodland, Statesboro – as well regular Class A Private contender Tattnall. GMC, the only team other than Gordon Lee to win a Class A (overall and then Public) title in the last nine years, is ACE’s top region rival, and the Gryphons topped the Bulldogs twice.
Gordon Lee has won 10 state titles in this century alone. ACE stopped that run in its tracks, putting up seven runs in the second inning.
Regan Foster walked and was sacrificed to second by Destiny Lucas, Gracie McDade sending the first pitch to her over the fence in center for two runs.
Karsyn Yates singled, and after a Karlee Yates out and walk to Madisyn Hallar, Laney Bridges singled, and Dixiana Sims brought in two runs with a single. Lizzy Mitchell then blasted a two-run homer to center after a pitching change.
Sims did Sims in the circle, giving up the first hit the bottom of the third and another hit to open the fifth and with two outs in the sixth. She needed 11 pitches in the bottom of the seventh to finish the Trojans off, ending the game with her 10th strikeout of the game, against three hits and two walks.
McDade had two of ACE’s eight hits, with Sims, Mitchell and McDade with two RBI each.
Class 4A
North Oconee 2, West Laurens 0; West Laurens eliminated
The pitchers duel turned in North Oconee’s direction in the fifth inning when the Titans broke a scoreless game with two runs. They got the pitching to keep West Laurens from scoring despite two fewer hits in the elimination game.
It was a frustrating offensive game for West Laurens, which got its first two batters of the game on base, but stranded them.
The Raiders got the leadoff batter on in the second and third (with a double), and got a one-out runner in the fourth and two-out runner in the fifth (a double) only to go down in order in the sixth and seventh innings.
Emma Riner and Alyssa Jones had two hits each for the five-hit Raiders. Taylor Sapp was solid in the circle, with eight strikeouts and two walks with three hits on 94 pitches. North Oconoee’s Maddie Johnson fanned seven with no walks.
Class A Public
ACE 5, ECI 2; ACE advances
The Gryphons broke a 1-all tie with three in the third to pave the way to the state championship game.
Laney Bridges led the inning off by reaching second on an error. Dixiana Sims singled and Lizzy Mitchell was hit by a pitch. Regan Foster brought two in with a double to left, Destiny Lucas following with a sacrifice fly to center for another run.
From there, Sims retired seven straight, ECI managing a run in the fifth. But Sims got back and sat down the final six straight ECI batters. She finished with 13 strikeouts and no walks in the four-hit complete game.
Mitchell, Foster, Lucas, Karsyn and Karlee Yates all had two hits, Foster and Lucas with two RBI each and Bridges scoring twice.
The 30-0 Gryphons will play the winner of the 1 p.m. elimination game between ECI and perennial finalist Gordon Lee, winner of nine state titles in the last 11 years.
Class A Private
ELCA 8, Tattnall 7; Tattnall eliminated
Tattnall had a highly uncharacteristic four errors. One came in the seventh. ELCA scored twice in the seventh, and ended the Trojans’ season.
The Chargers got a runner on with a one-out error, and followed with a walk and runners-advancing groundout. A double by Brooke Rockhold brought in both runners, and ELCA had the lead. The Trojans couldn’t mount a threat in the bottom half, going down in order.
Half of the Chargers’ runs were unearned, while two of the Trojans’ runs were unearned. It was tied at five through three, then Tattnall took a one-run lead in the fourth, both teams scoring once in the sixth.
The Trojans, who finish the year 23-7, also gave up an abnormal six walks and stranded eight runners, three fewer than the Chargers (18-10).
Hailey Daughtry and Lindsey Paul and Olivia Bridger had two hits each for Tattnall, which got two-RBI games from Gradie Appling, Daughtry, and Isabelle Pecorilli.