Lady Dawgs sweep in first round of state
♦ Cedartown travels to Cairo for Sweet 16 this week
As soon as the ball met the bat, the Cedartown softball players knew it was gone.
As Makayla Jordan finished her trip around the bases, the junior center fielder was mobbed at home plate by the entire team. Her two-run blast put Cedartown ahead in the ninth inning of last week’s playoff opener, eventually leading to a 5-3 triumph for Lady Bulldogs.
Cedartown was able to finish up Region 5-4A champion Hampton in just two games to punch their ticket to the Sweet 16.
“She has been huge for us,” first-year head coach Jaime Monroe said of Jordan. “She makes some catches in the outfield that are just crazy, and she makes some plays look easy that most people wouldn’t be able to make. Her bat has been huge as well. With her in the leadoff position she deceives a lot of teams; they expect her to be fast, but they don’t expect her to have the power that she does.”
Jordan’s home run broke a 3-3 tie in extra innings in Game 1 of the GHSA firstround playoff series in Henry County. But make no mistake: although it was a tied game, the Lady Bulldogs were in control for much of the contest.
Taylor Westmoreland crushed a tworun shot, her first homer of 2021, in the first inning to give CHS a 2-0 advantage. Their lead increased by one run in the top of the fifth when Westmoreland scored thanks to a two-out error.
Hampton began battling back. The Purple Hornets scored once in the bottom of the fifth, then posted a two-out rally in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game and force extras. Following a scoreless eighth frame, Jordan stepped up in the top of the ninth to give Cedartown the lead back. Reagan Clarke mowed down the Hampton lineup the next half-inning to secure the narrow victory.
Jordan was 2-for-5 with a double, a home run, two runs batted in, and two runs scored. Westmoreland finished 4-for-5 with a double, a homer, two RBI, and two runs.
Marycille Brumby (2-4), Hayvin Barclay (1-4, R), Kaylee Nikolopoulus (1-4), and Clarke (1-5) also tallied hits in Game 1.
Clarke went the full nine innings, giving up just one earned run on nine hits and five walks. She struck out seven Purple Hornets in the win as well.
Game 2 featured another hot start for Cedartown’s offense. After Hampton raced out to a 1-0 lead in the first, an error by the Purple Hornet defense allowed Autumn Boatner to touch home plate.
The Lady Bulldogs dropped a four-spot in the fourth thanks to RBI hits by Jordan and Nikolopoulus and another costly Hampton error. Cedartown’s 5-1 lead was threatened late. Hampton brought across two runs in the fifth and one run in the sixth before starting pitcher Emme Arp was relieved by Reagan Clarke.
The junior right-handed entered, kept it a 5-4 ball game, and ended Hampton’s season by denying any runs in the final two innings.
Clarke (2-4, 2 RBI) and Nikolopoulus (2-4, RBI) led the team with two-hits each while Jordan (1-4, 2B, RBI, R), Brumby (1-3, R), Westmoreland (1-4, R), and Arp (1-2) also reached.
Boatner and Barclay failed to record a hit, but each got aboard and scored in the victory. Arp surrendered four earned runs on five hits and three walks in five innings. Clarke’s relief appearance included zero runs, two hits, one walk, and one strikeout in two frames.
“Words can’t describe how proud I am of the kids,” Monroe said after the wins at Hampton. “We are in a really good spot right now and I hope we can ride this wave going into next week.
“I was very proud of how (Emme Arp and Reagan Clarke) handled themselves in the circle,” Monroe said. “They both did their jobs, hit their spots, and let the defense do their jobs, which made for a total team effort.”
With the first-round upset of Hampton, four-seed Cedartown will hit the road in round two. The Lady Bulldogs will travel south to Grady County for a best-of-three series with Cairo.
The Lady Syrupmakers, who finished third in Region 1-4A, thumped Jenkins 15-3 and 7-1 in Savannah on Tuesday.
“It’s definitely tough to go that far. We are leaving Monday, getting there and getting some practice in, and then doing some things Tuesday morning to keep them moving and ready,” Monroe said. “They’re excited for a road trip.”
Monroe stated that Cairo is going to be a tough opponent, but the Lady Bulldogs are going to go to South Georgia and give it all they have in the second round.
“We are going to have to continue doing what we do best, and that’s hit and play solid defense,” Monroe said. “If we do those things, that’ll give us the best chance to win.”
Last season, Cedartown advanced all the way to the Elite 8 before falling at LaGrange. Due to COVID restrictions, the GHSA Softball State Championships were limited to four teams. This year the format has returned to its usual eight-team structure, meaning that if Cedartown wins at Cairo, the Lady Bulldogs will head to the championship tournament in Columbus.
“Last year it felt good to make it to the Sweet 16 in my first season as head coach (at Alexander), but to come here — where I’m not from and where I didn’t know anybody beforehand — has been awesome,” Monroe said. “More importantly, it’s been all these girls. They’ve worked so hard and it shows.”
Cedartown softball will start their second-round playoff series at Cairo High School on Tuesday. Games will start at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. in Grady County. The if-needed Game 3 would be played Wednesday at Cairo as well.