— The region tournament signifies the start of a new focus for area teams, and for the Calhoun Lady Jackets, it means their push for a third straight region title has begun.
Calhoun took their first step toward that goal on Tuesday afternoon when they opened play in the 6-AAA Tournament at Jack Mattox Park in Ringgold with a 9-0 win over Sonoraville. The victory clinced a State berth and moved the Lady Jackets (24-2) into the winner’s bracket finals where they faced off against rival Ringgold on Wednesday for a chance to go to the region title game. The Lady Phoenix (14-12) fell into the loser’s bracket where they faced Coahulla Creek on Wednesday in an elimination game with a state berth on the line.
Calhoun coach Diane Smith said Tuesday’s win was a good start to the postseason for her team.
“We’re getting down to what really counts now,” said Smith. “We’ve played a lot of games in the regular season, but the real season actually began today. We’re all pumped up and ready to go, and today’s win was a great start for us.”
Calhoun took control early in the game with six runs in the first inning. They added another run in the second and scored two in the fourth before getting the three outs in the fifth to close out Sonoraville for a mercyrule shortened victory.
“The first inning was awesome,” said Smith. “We got some momentum with those six runs and that really calmed the girls down and gave them some confidence. We hit the ball well today. I was a little worried that the girls would try to hit too many long fly balls, but they were playing so deep in the outfield, I told them to hit it on the ground or line drives.”
Leading the offense for Calhoun was Chloe Rice with three hits and two RBIs. Emily Weatherman also had a perfect 3-for-3 day with a run scored, and Emily Mitchell added two hits, including a double, and two RBIs. Also contributing was Jana Johns with two hits, including a double, and an RBI, Ashlyn Barnes with two hits and two runs scored, Maddie Clay with a hit and two RBIs, Allie Jones with a hit and a run scored and Madision Green with an RBI.
Mitchell held down the Sonoraville offense for the win, going four innings and allowing just four hits while striking out five. Kinsey Liscio came in to pitch the final frame and struck out two in a scoreless inning of relief.
Smith said having two top pitchers will definitely come in handy now that tournament time has arrived.
“That’s huge,” said Smith. “Everybody would love to have two pitchers the caliber of our two. We’ve got to keep them healthy and in a rhythm from here on out. They’ll be one of our main keys to having success here at the region tournament and on into State.”
Sonoraville’s Baylee Blaylock had two of her team’s four hits. Thaley Jackson and Griffin Holden had the others. The best chance to score for the Lady Phoenix came in the second inning when they had three straight singles, but after the leadoff runner was picked off, they stranded the other two on base.
Sonoraville coach Chad Hayes said he knew what kind of challenge Calhoun would present, but now his team has their backs against the wall.
“We knew it would be a tough one because it always is when you play Calhoun,” said Hayes. “We’re down to a onegame season now. This is the same spot we’ve been in the last three years and were able to make the most of it the last two years with wins. It’s all about rebounding tomorrow. We’ve got to play our best softball now. If we play our best and to our full ability, we should come out with a win and move on to State.”
In other action from the first two days of the region tournament on Monday and Tuesday:
Adairsville 8, Gordon Central 2
— The Lady Warriors for four innings, but Adairsville scored the final eight runs and stopped any rallies as Gordon Central’s season came to an end on Tuesday night at the Region 6-AAA Tournament.
The Lady Warriors (525) took an early 2-0 lead with both runs coming in the top half of the first, but could never add on, stranding several runners, including a basesloaded, no-out situation in the sixth.
“It’s all about finishing that drill,” said Gordon Central coach Maddie Monroe. “We were fighting to stay here a little longer at least, but we just didn’t take advantage of all of our opportunities. We came out and looked good early in the game, but got back in the same situation we’ve been in a lot this year. We’ve been competitive in a lot of games, but we’ve got to figure out how to win them.”
Sidney Taylor led Gordon Central with three hits and a run scored, and Ryann Luna, the team’s lone senior, added two hits and a run scored of her own, and Morgan Frank had two hits and an RBI. Cara Crump, Destiny Parker, Mackenzie Hall and Cailey Martin all had a hit apiece, and Arianna Mustin drove in a run.
For Adairsville (1317), who moved on to face Murray County in an elimination game for a State Tournament berth on Wednesday with the win, Alyssa Hughes had a big night at the plate, going 4-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. She also earned the win, pitching all seven innings and giving up two runs on 11 hits while striking out three.
Loren Harris added three hits, including a triple, and an RBI for the Lady Tigers. Emily Collum and Havyn Issac had two hits and an RBI apiece, with one of Collum’s being a triple, and Hannah Knapp, Bailey Robinson and Natalie Burrow all had a hit and an RBI apiece.
The loss brings Monroe’s first year as head coach of the Lady Warriors to an end, and despite the record, the team showed signs of improvement as the season went on. Losing just one senior in Luna and having a lot of experience back should make for an exciting season in 2016.
Monroe said she hates to lose a player as talented as Luna, but she’s looking forward to seeing how hard this team will work in the offseason to take another step next year.
“It’s definitely a lot easier when you only lose one senior and not four or five at the same time,” said Monroe. “But that one senior we’re losing was a big part of our team. It will be tough to not have her talent and experience, but the group we have coming back has to continue to grow and get better. I told them we’re going to take a few weeks off and then start in November and December working for next season. You’ve got to put in the work in the offseason to be great. That’s when the biggest improvements are made.”
Sonoraville 4, Adairsville 3
The Lady Phoenix showed a little rust according to coach Chad Hayes, but they held on for a win in their opening game of the Region 6-AAA Tournament on Monday.
Kristen Davis pitched a complete game to help the Lady Phoenix (1411) to the win, giving up three runs on five hits while striking out five. She also had a hit at the plate.
Leading the offense was Abby Connally with two hits and an RBI. Also contributing was Kendall Bowman with a hit and an RBI, and Griffin Holden, Harleigh Chastain and Thaley Jackson with a hit and a run scored apiece.
The win moved Sonoraville to the next round where they faced Calhoun on Tuesday.
Coahulla Creek 7, Gordon Central 4
The Region 6-AAA Tournament got off to a tough start on Monday for the Lady Warriors as they rallied for a few late runs to make the final score closer, but it was unfortunately too little, too late in a loss.
Destiny Parker had two hits and an RBI and also pitched the complete game for the tough loss, giving up seven runs (five earned).
Jessie Brooks had a hit and two RBIs at the plate, and Ryann Luna, Sidney Taylor, Arianna Mustin, Morgan Frank, Mackenzie Hall and Cara Crump all had one hit for Gordon Central (5-24). The loss put the Lady Warriors in loser’s bracket where the squared off with Adairsville in an elimination game on Tuesday.