Lady Phoenix fall to Ringgold in tough 2nd-round series
After rallying to force Game 3, Sonoraville loses hard-fought contest
RINGGOLD — Monday’s decisive Game 3 between Sonoraville and Ringgold in the second round of Region 6-AAA playoffs was a back-and-forth battle in which nothing came easy for either team.
But it was the Lady Tigers who came on top thanks to making just a few more plays. Ringgold got a solo homer from Hannah Crosland and a clutch RBI-single from Kaylee Womack, and that was all the offense they would need to earn a 2-1 victory to advance to the region championship series on Wednesday.
Ringgold (16-10) now advances to the Region 6-AAA Championship series on Wednesday at Calhoun. The two rivals will play a doubleheader starting at 5 p.m. If a Game 3 is necessary, it will be played on Thursday.
Sonoraville ( 16- 12) falls into the third-place series on Wednesday and will visit LFO for a doubleheader starting at 4:30 p.m. If a Game 3 is necessary, it will be played on Thursday.
“Sometimes you just have to tip your hat,” said Sonoraville coach Chad Hayes following his team’s close loss on Monday. “We just didn’t get that timely hit, and they made a perfect play on a throw to the plate to throw out the tying run in the sixth. Credit to them. They made the plays to win today.”
The play Hayes pointed to came in the top of the sixth inning. With his team trailing 2-1, Thaley Jackson ripped a twoout single to center, and Griffin Holden, who had just hit a double on the previous play, rounded third but was thrown out at home by Ringgold’s Karoline Sholl. Catcher Dare Schley applied the tag to end the possible threat.
Sonoraville got a runner to second in the seventh, but Ringgold pitcher Kaylee Phillips induced a game-ending groundout. Phillips earned the win with a complete-game effort, giving up one run (unearned) on seven hits while striking out one.
Sonoraville’s Kristen Davis also pitched well to keep her team in the game, including getting out of a few jams. She took the tough-luck loss after going six innings and giving up two runs on five hits while striking out three.
The Lady Phoenix scored the first run of the game in the fourth after Davis got out of a bases-loaded, one-out situation the previous inning. Holden, who finished 3-for-3, drove home a run with an RBI-single.
Ringgold answered right back, however, in the bottom half of the fourth with a solo homer by Crosland to tie it up. They then got the eventual game-winning run in the fifth on an RBI-single by Womack. Womack reached base three times in the game, walking twice as well. Crosland finished with two hits, Sholl had a double and Ally Ellis also had a hit and a run scored.
Holden was the lone Sonoraville player with multiple hits. Baylee Blaylock added a double, and Jackson, Shayna Dutton and Mollie Locke also had hits.
Hayes said the loss is a tough one as his team had their hopes set on competing for a region title and hosting a firstround series in the state tournament, but they can’t let it affect their confidence.
“We just can’t let it be a letdown for us,” said Hayes. “We really wanted that win, but we’ve just got to refocus, regroup and come out and try to scratch out a couple wins against LFO. We’re used to being on the road, but we want to win on Wednesday and get that No. 3 seed to avoid a No. 1 seed in the first round of State. We can’t let this affect how we play from here on out.”
In Saturday’s action in the first two games of the series:
Sonoraville splits to force decisive game
With their backs against the wall following a tough Game 1 loss, the Lady Phoenix bounced right back on Saturday to come up with a huge victory to force a decisive Game 3 in their second-round Region 6-AAA playoff series.
Coming off a 4-2 loss in the first game as Ringgold rallied for four runs in the bottom of the sixth to earn the comeback win, Sonoraville (16-11) was the comeback team in Game 2. They fell behind 2-0 after one inning and 3-2 after two, but scored the final three runs over the next couple innings to get the 5-3 road victory.
In Game 2, Harleigh Chastain had two hits, two stolen bases and two RBIs to lead the offense, and Mollie Locke added a hit and an RBI. Alyssa Hughes also had a double.
Kelsey Mulkey came up huge in the circle, pitching a complete-game effort for the win. After some early struggles, giving up the three runs in the first two frames, she settled down to pitch five scoreless innings from there. In total, she went seven innings and gave up three runs (one earned) on four hits.
Game 1 featured a solid pitching performance as well, but Kristen Davis took the tough-luck loss after the late Ringgold comeback. Davis went six innings and gave up four runs (one earned) on three hits while striking out nine.
Offensively in the first game, Griffin Holden had a hit and an RBI, and Thaley Jackson drove in the other run.