Coosa sees the 2020 season come to an end
♦ The Lady Eagles are swept out of the state playoffs by Lovett.
After qualifying for the state playoffs for the first time since 2008, the Coosa Lady Eagles faced one of the top teams in Class AA, the Lovett Lady Lions in Atlanta.
The Lady Lions (21-2) swept the Lady Eagles (811) by scores of 8-0 in game one and 6-0 in game two in the best- of- 3 series. The Lady Eagles’ offense mustered just two hits between the two games played on Monday.
“We not only had to fight corona(virus) this year, but had to battle in the field too and we battled,” Lady Eagles head coach Chris Jacobs said. “I told them I could not be more proud of them. We met our goal, we made the playoffs. We fought hard in a tough region. I know we got swept here, but we came out and we played hard and that’s all I can ask of them. After the offseason, we’re going to go back to work and our goal is going to be finish (No.) 1 or 2 in region next year.”
Finishing fourth in region this season, it was a stark contrast to three years ago, when the Lady Eagles did not win a single game. From there, Coosa has steadily improved.
“There are only 32 teams that made the playoffs in the entire state of Georgia in AA, and so I’m just super proud,” Jacobs said. “It’s been 12 years since Coosa made the playoffs. And hey, that’s what it’s all about. The girls here earned it. They played hard.”
Jacobs said, when he looks back on the 2020 Coosa campaign, he will most remember the determination.
“They did what I asked them to do,” Jacobs said. “They stayed positive, they stayed healthy, they did what they needed to do. We made the state playoffs for the first time in 12 years and we were this close to maybe finishing third in the region. Awesome job by all of our girls.”
Jacobs said his three seniors will be greatly missed, but noted a plethora of young talent will be returning next year, including both pitchers used in 2020.
“They didn’t win a single game their freshman year,” Jacobs said on his seniors. “We gradually increased the wins, and their sophomore year to two wins, to eight last year, eight this year. How they stayed with the program, how they continued to be positive and they continued to fight.”
“We’re bringing back our two pitchers. Both of them had very good years,” Jacobs said on his returners. “We bring back most of our girls ... and we’ve got some coming up ready to play too so that’s our positive.”