Never-say-die Ringgold rallies for first state title since 2005
The Ringgold Lady Tigers are not the first team to ever fight back out of the elimination bracket to win a state championship.
But none of the other teams that have ever done it did it quite like the Blue-and-white did it in 2019.
After an opening-round lost to Southeast Bulloch in Columbus forced the Lady Tigers to win six straight games the claim the title, Ringgold did so in championship style.
Dramatic come-from-behind victories against East Hall and Calhoun on Saturday ended in final-inning walk-off victories to give the Lady Tigers a spot at the final table and from there, Ringgold went all in.
They would use another comeback win over Franklin County to force a winnertake-all game for the Class 3A state championship and the never-say-die Lady Tigers once again offered up a dramatic finish.
“We’ve been (to Columbus) so many times, but these girls (on the 2019 team) had not been there before,” head coach Daniel Hackett said. “The fact that they hadn’t been there before and they pulled it off after losing the first game is just wonderful. It just shows their growth and togetherness.”
Ringgold 7, Franklin County 5
Needing to beat the Lady Lions twice to win it all, Ringgold stormed back from a three-run deficit to pick up the victory in a game that began in Columbus on Saturday and finished up at Franklin County some 48 hours later.
A two-out, two-run double by Riley Nayadley in the top of the third inning briefly gave Ringgold a 2-1 lead. But Franklin County would tie the game in the bottom of the third inning before taking a 5-2 lead an inning later.
The comeback would begin as Amber Gainer reached base on a one-out error in the top of the fifth. She would race home on an Rbi-double by Baileigh Pitts and back-toback walks would set the table for the rest of the big inning.
Jade Gainer drove in Autumn Green and Nayadley with an two-rbi single and Ava Raby plated Shelby Cole and Gainer with a double to put Ringgold in front.
After play was suspended because of the heavy rain, the game resumed at Franklin County on Monday. Pitcher Taylor Thomas, who entered the game in the third inning back in Columbus on Saturday, would make the two-run lead hold up.