Ringgold's Abby McKinney fires a pitch towards home plate to Calhoun's Ashlyn Barnes during the Georgia Region 6-AAA softball tournament winner's bracket final game Wednesday at Heritage Park in Dalton, GaDALTON, Ga. - Two softball tournaments, one location and two very different outcomes on a crazy Wednesday at Heritage Pointe Park.
In the Region 6-AAA tournament, top-seeded Ringgold proved its regular season dominance wasn't a fluke with a 6-2 win over Calhoun in the winners-bracket final. The win puts the Lady Tigers in the championship round and guarantees them of at least one home playoff series.
In the Region 7-AAAA tournament, chaos ruled. Top-seed Heritage, unbeaten during the regular season, fell to Northwest Whitfield in the second round, 4-3, putting the Generals on the brink of elimination. Steve Chattin's team, however, regrouped to defeat LaFayette, 11-3, to remain alive and clinch a a state playoff berth.
Meanwhile, third-seeded LaFayette and second-seeded Ridgeland were eliminated. The Lady Ramblers (20-11) downed Ridgeland, 5-3, in the loser's-bracket first round to send their Walker County rivals home.
"This is the toughest region in the state, I don't care what anybody says," LaFayette coach Glen Woodard said. "It's crazy."
The craziness also involved Gilmer County. The seventh-seeded Lady Bobcats rolled past Pickens County before continuing their amazing run with a 2-0 win over Northwest behind freshman pitcher Taylor Bowling's two-hitter. Gilmer (12-14) is now assured of at least a region runner-up finish and one home playoff series and will get the day off today to await its championship round opponent.
Also clinching a title round appearance, Ringgold (25-4) rolled after digging its usual early hole. Calhoun took a 1-0 lead and left five runners on base in the first two innings before the Lady Tigers woke up. Abby McKinney gave Ringgold a 2-1 lead with a solo homer in the third and Ringgold scored three more times in the fourth to take control on RBI hits from Kayla Womack, who later added a solo homer, and Taylor Chadwick and an RBI groundout from Dare Schley.
McKinney, though not sharp early, the Calhoun side in order in the third, fourth and fifth innings as Ringgold pulled away and had to withstand a 30-minute lightning delay in the sixth inning.
"We were on our way to getting it done and got the delay, which I didn't want to see," Ringgold coach Shane Pendley said. "Abby was still getting loose again at the end but she got it done. This team has a lot of moxy, and I'm never surprised with anything they do. They've gotten up on us every game this year but we always seem to fight back. It's not over and we'll likely play them again."
Also in 6-AAA, Sonoraville eliminated Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe, 3-2, on Abby Connally's fifth-inning three-run homer, and then defeated Murray County, 9-6, to remain alive. The Phoenix will face Calhoun in today's loser's-bracket final, with the winner taking on Ringgold at 7. Murray County, which earlier eliminated Coahulla Creek, 6-1, will be the region's No. 4 playoff seed.
In the early 7-AAAA shocker, Northwest, which had been beaten soundly by Heritage twice in the regular season, rallied from a three-run deficit to win. BriLeigh Baggett shut the Generals down over the final six innings and helped herself with a two-run homer. Shelby Ralston knocked in the game-winning run with a single in the sixth.
Heritage then used a 13-hit attack to stay alive with the 11-3 win over LaFayette. Lauren Lawson pitched a three-hitter and belted a home run, while Abby Gibson was 2-for-2 with three RBIs. Also late Wednesday, Pickens County eliminated Southeast, 4-2, and will face Heritage today at 5 in the losers-bracket, with the winner facing Northwest at 7.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296.