Ringgold earns trip back to state
Last season, the Ringgold Lady Tigers missed the Class 3A state softball tournament by just one game.
That won’t be the case this time around.
Ringgold punched its ticket to state by finishing third in the Region 6-AAA tournament in Calhoun last week.
As a result, the Lady Tigers (1516) will open the state tournament on Wednesday (Oct. 10) at Region 7 runner-up Lumpkin County. A doubleheader is scheduled for 3 p.m. with a third game, if needed, to be played on Thursday.
Ringgold opened the tournament with an 8-0 win over county rival LFO last Monday before hammering Haralson County, 9-1, in the nightcap.
Brooklyn Keith was 2-for-3 with a homerun and two RBIS against LFO, while Baileigh Pitts also homered and drove in two. Amber and Jade Gainer had two hits each, while Jade Gainer and Taylor Layne each had one RBI.
Kaylee Phillips doubled and knocked in two runs, while she also pitched a one-hitter in the circle. She finished the game with one strikeout.
In the nightcap, the Lady Tigers scored eight times in the top of the first inning and never looked back as they upset the higher-seeded Lady Rebels.
Phillips threw another gem, scattering six hits over five innings and allowing just the one earned run. She also helped herself with a pair of RBIS. Amber Gainer had three hits and scored twice. Pitts was 3-for-3 with two RBIS. Riley Nayadley had two hits and an RBI. Caroline Hemphill and Autumn Green each had two hits, while Keith and Jade Gainer both knocked in one run.
Facing Sonoraville in the winners’ bracket, the Lady Tigers had twice as many hits as the Lady Phoenix on Tuesday night (8-4), but couldn’t get a clutch hit as they dropped a 3-0 decision.
Pitts had three hits for the Lady Tigers. Green was 2-for-3, while Nayadley, Hemphill and Shelby Cole all had one hit apiece. Phillips threw six solid innings in the circle. She gave up two walks and four hits. None of the three runs she allowed were earned.
Ringgold went on to win a pair of elimination games on Wednesday to secure its state berth and did it with the long ball.
Cole capped a three-run fifth inning with a two-run homer to break a 3-3 tie and beat LFO, 5-3, before Pitts’ two-run shot in the sixth was the deciding blow in an 8-6 win over Coahulla Creek.
Amber Gainer was 3-for-4 against the Lady Warriors. Green was 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Keith had a hit and drove in a run. Phillips got the victory. She gave up eight hits, but just one earned run and struck out two batters in seven innings of work.
Pitts also had a solo shot in the first inning versus the Lady Colts. Nayadley had an Rbi-triple and Jade Gainer delivered an Rbi-single, while two runs would score on a costly Coahulla Creek error.
Green was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Jade and Amber Gainer had two hits each in the victory, while Layne gave up five earned runs on nine hits and three walks. She struck out two in seven innings, but shut out Coahulla Creek over the final two frames to get the win in the circle.
Their final game in the tournament came on Thursday and resulted in a 3-1 loss to Sonoraville in the elimination bracket final.
Ringgold took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a Jade Gainer RBI, but that would be all the offense could muster. Gainer finished the day 2-for-3. Amber Gainer and Pitts had the only other two hits for Ringgold on the night. Phillips gave up three earned runs on six hits in six innings of work. She struck out one batter and did not issue a walk.
Calhoun went on to win the 6-AAA title.