CHICKAMAUGA, Ga. - Defending Class A champ Gordon Lee made it to 30 wins for at least the second year in a row and wins No. 30 and 31 came against Providence Christian, the team the Lady Trojans defeated last year for their state softball title.
Now they'll wait on a coin flip to see if they get to stay at home next Wednesday for the second round of the state tournament. It too will be a best-of-three series.
The Lady Trojans made short work of Providence Christian, Region 5's No. 3 seed, winning the first game in 13-0 in 3 1/2 innings and taking the second 9-1 in five.
"Losing their stud pitcher (she's now at Georgia Tech) makes a difference," Gordon Lee coach Dana Mull said. "We hit the ball in the gaps but we did get some bunts down and this team is aggressive on the bases."
In the two games, Gordon Lee banged out 27 hits -- nine for extra bases -- and stole six bases.
No one was better at the plate Wednesday night than Courtney Towns. The third baseman went 2-for-3 in the first game with a three-run homer and a three-run triple and even the one out, a fielders-choice, plated a run.
"I'm proud of her. She says she isn't so good at hitting slower pitching but she stayed back tonight and hit the ball," Mull said.
The shy Towns didn't really want to talk but finally talked after some good-natured urging from her teammates.
"Yes, it's the best game I've had all year but after a week of practice I guess I was ready to play,' she said. "I've been working on slower pitching all year. That's always been my weakness, but it all came together tonight."
Gordon Lee pounced in the third inning when it scored 10 runs to go up 13-0. Towns picked up six of her seven RBIs in the inning and her first at-bat homer cleared the centerfield fence by a good 10 feet.
The pecked a little more in the second game, getting two runs in the first and third innings before scoring five in the top of the fourth. The big hit was a two-run triple by Jordyn Hamill.