Lady Phoenix getting close to 2023 opener
For the Sonoraville High School softball team, the countdown to the 2023 regular season is on.
The Lady Phoenix are just four weeks away from their opener Saturday, Aug. 5 and they are about to begin their second year in the 4A division. This is also a team, with a lot of returning starters including their top two pitchers, that is looking to build on what they did last year.
And what they did last year was finish 8-7 in Region 7-4A, which was good enough for fourth place and their first-ever trip to the GHSA 4A playoffs.
The Phoenix, led by head coach Chad Hayes, did finish below .500 overall at 13-14 just one year after reaching the 3A state championship game in 2021. But they had a lot of underclassmen on the field and now the hope is that with some more familiarity about their 7-4A opponents and another year of experience, will come a little more success.
Central and Heritage really dominated the 7-4A softball scene last year with both going 13-2 in region play to finish in a tie for first place. Then Sonoraville and Northwest Whitfield deadlocked for third place with both teams going 8-7 in the league to secure the final two playoff spots.
And not only did Central and Heritage stand head-and-shoulders above the rest of the region, but both reached the Elite 8 state tournament with Central winning 27 games overall and Heritage winning 22.
The Sonoraville girls got off to a shaky start last year in their first season playing up a level in school-size, losing nine of their first 12 games. But after that, they won 10 of their last 15 games and are looking to seize that late-season momentum from the start this summer.
They will have a busy first week of the season, with seven games in the first seven days and have three weekend tournaments in August. They also once again have a tough 15-game Region 7-4A schedule that is carved up in a few different ways.
The Lady Firebirds will pop the top on the 2023 season Saturday, Aug. 5 with two games at their first one-day tournament of the year.
At 11 a.m. that morning they will take on South Forsyth and they are then back on the field at 1 p.m. to play Dawson County.
With a Sunday off to catch their collective breaths, the Phoenix then get ready for their first two-games-in-two-days stretch starting Monday, Aug. 7 when they travel to Calhoun to play their Gordon County rivals in the first of the teams’ two scheduled matchups. The first pitch
in front of Calhoun HS is set for 6 p.m.
They remain on the road the next day, Tuesday, Aug. 8 when they meet former Region 6-3A foe LaFayette on the Ramblers’ diamond at 5:30 p.m.
Sonoraville then has its home opener two days later on Thursday, Aug. 10 when they host Dawson County for the second time in five days. The first pitch at The Furnace is set for 5 p.m.
On Saturday, Aug. 12, the Lady Firebirds have another tournament doubleheader with one game in the morning and another later in the afternoon. They will take on Pepperell at 10 a.m. to begin the day and then are back at it at 4 p.m. against former 6-3A Region rival North Murray.
Things slow down, a little anyway, the second week of the season with just four games on the slate.
Sonoraville has its second home game and second game of the year against LaFayette scheduled for Monday, Aug. 14. It will be the second time the teams meet in a six-day period and the action will commence at 5:30 p.m.
They are back on the school bus Thursday, Aug. 17 with a short trip in Bartow County to face Adairsville in the first of their two pre-arranged games. The game is to start at 5 p.m.
The Lady Phoenix have two more games the next two days as the games dwindle down to the most important part of their docket — the 7-4A schedule.
On Monday, Aug. 21 they have their third home game of the month and first meeting with Cartersville, which is considered one of the top teams in Region 7-5A and that is their last encounter before they really throw themselves into league play with 15 of their final 18 games against their 7-4A mates.
Their first two league contests are against Northwest Whitfield with a home-and-away set versus the Lady Bruins.
Actually, it’s more of an away-and-home two-game series with the first meeting set for Tuesday, Aug. 22 in Whitfield County and 48 hours later, both clubs are at The Furnace to wrap up their first bit of league play. Both games are to start at 5:30 p.m.
The team then finishes up August with three games and two of those are 7-4A outings.
They remain at home Monday, Aug. 28 for their rematch with Adairsville. The game at The Furnace is to get underway at 5:30 p.m.
The next day, Aug. 29 they return to the 7-4A ranks with the first of their two games in three days against Heritage. The teams meet in Ringgold
that day and on Thursday, Aug. 31 they will be at The Furnace to play the Lady Generals a second time. Both games are to start at 5:30 p.m.
After that game, they will have their longest break during the season with a full week off before they complete the first of three Region rounds of play on Thursday, Sept. 7 with a trip to Central High School in Carrollton for a 7-4A showdown that begins at 5:30 p.m.
On Monday, Sept. 11, they step out of Region play with a trip to Cartersville for the team’s second meeting of the year.
But the very next day Tuesday, Sept. 12 they begin the second part of the 7-4A slate with the first of two consecutive matches against Cedartown. They will play the Lady Bulldogs in Cedartown to start the two-game set before everyone returns to The Furnace Thursday, Sept. 14 to play again. Both games are to get going at 5:30 p.m.
The Lady Phoenix complete their scheduled games against Central the next week, going to Carrollton for a second time on Tuesday, Sept. 19. Again, two days later, on Thursday, Sept. 21 both the clubs and their fans are in Gordon County for their last face-to-face of the regular season at The Furnace.
The Big Red conclude the month of September with three big outings, including their rematch with Calhoun and two more Region games.
It begins Monday, Sept. 25 when they play their last non-Region game on the slate against the Yellow Jackets at The Furnace. The teams are to begin at 5:30 p.m.
The next day, Tuesday, Sept. 26, they have their first game against 7-4A opponent Southeast Whitfield County and it is the first of two meetings in three days. Once again, the Phoenix the Region set open on the road, playing the Lady Raiders Tuesday before the teams’ end the month of September on Thursday, Sept 28 with their second game at the Phoenix’s ballpark. Both are to have 5:30 p.m. first pitches.
That begins the team’s stretch run with the last four games of the year against four different league foes coming in the first two weeks of October.
The first two will be played back-to-back on Monday, Oct. 2 and Tuesday, Oct. 3 when they first play at Heritage and then come back home the next day to face Cedartown.
They then get to it the final week of the season with two home games
The first one is set for Tuesday, Oct. 10 when they play Northwest Whitfield County and the season finale will be played Thursday, Oct. 12 when they host Southeast Whitfield County.