The last two seasons, the Calhoun Lady Jackets had little trouble rolling through the Region 7-AA Tournament to take home the first-place trophy both years.
Now that they’re in Region 6-AAA, the goal remains the same. The Lady Jackets began that quest by taking care of business in their first game of the Region 6-AAA Tournament on Monday at Heritage Point Park in Dalton, defeating Murray County 9- 0 in five innings to move into the semifinals. (Calhoun earned a double bye through the first two rounds by finished second in the region in the regular season.)
“Our pitching was great today, the defense was flawless and our batters went up there and did what they needed to do,” said Calhoun coach Diane Smith. “That’s what we’re supposed to do to a team that’s seeded lower than us at the tournament.
“By finishing No. 2 in the regular season, we got the double-bye, and we were happy with that. But our goal is to win the whole thing, and tonight, we took that first step.”
The win assured the Lady Jackets (23-6) of a berth in the Class AAA State Tournament. They moved forward in the bracket and will face Ringgold, who defeated LFO 2-1 on Monday, on Wednesday at 5 p.m. The Lady Tigers were the lone region team to defeat Calhoun during the regular season.
In Monday’s win, Calhoun got an early lead with four runs in the first and steadily added on from there. Madison Green had two hits, an RBI and a run scored to lead the offense. Taylor Kelly and Emily Mitchell each had a hit and two RBIs, and Allie Jones drove in a run with a hit. Ashlyn Barnes scored two runs, and Ryan Brzozoski and Jana Johns each had a hit and a run.
Mitchell was equally as important in the circle, going four shutout innings to earn the win, allowing four hits and striking out one. Kinsey Liscio pitched the final inning to close it out and struck out one.
Smith said her team has a lot of motivation for the tournament.
“Finishing second in the region in the regular season left a bad taste in our mouth,” said Smith. “We want to use that to drive us to get that region championship this week.”
Later in the evening, Sonoraville took on Adairsville in a loser’s bracket game. The Lady Phoenix team and crowd had a little extra pep coming into the game as senior ace pitcher Lily Hayes returned from injury to start the game.
Hayes has missed the entire season to this point after undergoing knee surgery over the summer. She was cleared to play on Monday.
Sonoraville, who defeated Coahulla Creek and fell to Murray County on the opening day of the tournament on Saturday, had the momentum early against the Lady Tigers on Monday, with Hayes pitching three shutout innings and Thaley Jackson connecting for a two-run homer in the first for a 2-0 lead, but the game would be stopped due to bad weather.
The two teams were scheduled to start the game over from the beginning on Tuesday. (For details on that game, see Saturday’s Calhoun Times.)
In Sonoraville’s Saturday games against Coahulla Creek and Murray County:
Sonoraville 3, Coahulla Creek 2
The Lady Phoenix opened the Region 6-AAA Tournament on Saturday in the fashion they wanted to with a win.
Thaley Jackson had a solid outing on the mound to lead the way for Sonoraville (13-16), going four innings and giving up one run on six hits while striking out four to earn the win. Amy Casker closed it out by pitching the final three innings and giving up an unearned run on four hits while.
At the plate, Jackson had a hit and an RBI. Erin Whitlock and Harleigh Chastain each had a hit and run scored, and Casker had two hits and a run scored.
The Win moved the Lady Phoenix on to the next round where the took on Murray County.
Murray County 8, Sonoraville 1
Sonoraville couldn't duplicate the winning effort they had in their first game of the tournament as they lost to the Lady Indians to fall into the loser's bracket.
Sonoraville coach Chad Hayes said several errors led heavily to the loss.
Kelsey Mulkey started in the circle and gave up five runs (one earned) on three hits while striking out one. Amy Casker then gave up three runs in two innings on six hits with two strikeouts.
Harleigh Chastain had a hit and the lone run scored. Erin Whitlock, Thaley Jackson, Tiffany Vowell and McKenzie Green had a hit apiece.
The loss set up a win or go home matchup against Adairsville on Monday, which was postponed due to weather to Tuesday.
The Lady Phoenix are aiming to advance to the Class AAA State Tournament for the second straight season and third time overall as a program.