Ringgold's Abby McKinney (7) pitches against Rockmart during the GHSA Class AAA first-round playoff series at the Tiger's home field on October 17, 2014.For all the success northwest Georgia high school softball teams had this regular season, four of them learned Thursday that one bad game - or inning - in Columbus can put championship hopes in jeopardy.
While Calhoun and Ringgold won a pair of games apiece to set up a winners-bracket final showdown today at 5 p.m. in the Class AAA competition, title contenders Gordon Lee and Heritage saw title hopes dimmed with stunning losses. Trion, in Class A, and the Class AAAA defending champions from Northwest Whitfield also lost their first games.
Each of the four will play this morning and will need three wins to make it to Saturday.
"In Columbus anything can happen," said Gordon Lee coach Dana Mull, whose team lost 4-3 to Jeff-Davis after holding an early 3-0 lead. "We never should have lost that game, and we typically don't blow a game like that. We had some unfortunate things happen. They only had three hits, so we beat ourselves."
Heritage, the second-ranked team in Class AAAA, lost 2-1 to third-ranked Walnut Grove on Kala Mosley's leadoff home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Generals (32-8) have to defeat fourth-ranked Wayne County this morning to stay alive in a tough losers bracket.
"The tough part is trying to get them to forget this game and focus," Heritage coach Steve Chattin said. "We don't have an easy one in the morning and we have to take three games tomorrow, so it will be tough."
Class AAAA
Heritage allowed an unearned run in the third inning before tying it in the fifth on Olivia Tamewitz's two-out double. However, Walnut Grove pitcher Kayla Poynter, who is committed to the University of Georgia, did not allow another hit and Mosley made her a winner with her leadoff shot in the seventh.
Northwest Whitfield (20-19) held a 5-2 lead over Pike County entering the bottom of the seventh inning but fell 6-5. A BriLeigh Baggett two-run single in the top half had given the Lady Bruins some breathing room, but an infield single and two walks set up the Pirates for the comeback, which was completed with Hobby Gregory's two-run single.
The Lady Bruins will face Carrollton this morning at 11. Two wins by each of the 7-AAAA rivals would pit them in an elimination game at 7.
Class AAA
Calhoun and Ringgold dominated the opposition Thursday, winning two games each by a combined 37-2. Each team won an 8-0 five-inning game to start with, Calhoun rapping out 10 hits and Ringgold 11. Taylor Kelly continued her hot hitting with a 2-for-2 effort and four RBIs, while Ashlyn Barnes was 3-for-3 for the Lady Yellow Jackets, while Ringgold's Abby McKinney was a one-woman wrecking crew, pitching a no-hitter while adding two hits and two RBIs, with Reagan Benedict and Kiwi Dale getting two hits apiece.
Late Thursday the dominance continued as Calhoun (32-7) rolled past Dodge County, 10-1, as Emily Mitchell belted a home run and Kinsey Liscio struck out 10, while Ringgold (32-6) routed Dawson County 11-1 to set up today's sixth meeting between the two Region 6 teams. Ringgold holds a 3-2 edge.
"We both know each other very well, so there will be no surprises," said Ringgold coach Shane Pendley, whose team got three hits and four RBIs from Aimie Davidson in support of Katie Cain's two-hitter against Dawson. "It should be a very good game, but I like our chances."
Class AA
Gordon Lee (30-7), which had a steal of home and Megan O'Toole's RBI single, was cruising until Jeff-Davis's Macy Coleman hit a solo homer in the fourth. Two innings later the Yellow Jackets (24-13) got a walk and a single to start the inning and tied the game on a passed ball and a wild pitch.
In the eighth, under international tiebreaker rules, the Lady Trojans had a runner on third and one out when Reagan Brown was thrown out at home on a squeeze-bunt attempt. In the bottom half, with a runner on third and two outs, Cari Graham hit a solid single to left to end the game.
"In the eighth we squeezed and I thought we were safe but he called us out," Mull said. "We never should have let it get to that point, though. If you look at what it will take to win it all, on the whole it's tough, but you have to win the first game and go from there. I don't think these girls will go down without fighting."
Class A
Trion (21-7) fell behind 6-0 to Johnson County before pulling within three in the fourth inning. However, Jason Lanham's team, despite 10 hits, could not get the breakthrough hit in the latter innings. Jaden Morrison knocked in two runs and Kerrigan Ramsey had a pair of hits for the Lady Bulldogs, who play Truetlen County this morning at 9.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296.