General success: Homers huge for champs
COLUMBUS, Ga. — There are many stories of athletic teams having the talent and the motivation to achieve the ultimate goal only to fall short.
For the Heritage High School softball team, however, its openly discussed “mission” of winning the GHSA Class AAAA championship seemed to never really be in doubt.
The Generals capped an undefeated postseason with a 10-2 win over Wayne County on Saturday — thanks in large part to senior Harper Carstens’ two home runs and six RBIs — to capture their fourth state championship at the South Commons Softball Complex.
“They have bought into what we’ve been preaching since the summer, and that’s easier said than done,” said Heritage coach Megan Crawford, whose team outscored its opponents 26-4 in Columbus over four games in as many days.
“They’ve gotten in the weight room and they’ve lived in the batting cage and they’ve just worked hard to get this, and it showed with the results this weekend.”
Gordon Lee’s run at a 12th state title fell short after a late rally against Wesleyan in the Class AAA losers-bracket final came up a run shy in a 4-3 loss.
Heritage (28-3-1), which won its first three AAAA titles in succession from 2018-20, secured its fourth state championship with a quick start over Wayne County, which had eliminated North Oconee 9-5 in the losers-bracket final earlier Saturday.
As the more rested team, Heritage wasted no time fulfilling its championship goal, scoring two runs in the first inning and four more in the third to give ace Addie Edwards more than enough support.
Freshman Brylee Pritchett started the bottom of the first with a solo homer, with Macie Collins driving in another run on a sacrifice fly. The Yellow Jackets (26-10), though, tied the game with solo runs in the second and third innings before Carstens started her personal wrecking service.
Pritchett, who had three hits and two RBIs and scored three runs, started the Generals’ half of the third inning by reaching on an error, with Bailee Hollis following with a single before Carstens unloaded to left field for a 5-2 lead.