LaFayette catcher Hannah O'Shields waits for the ball to tag Heritage's Lauren Lawson out at the plate Thursday at LaFayette High School.LaFAYETTE, Ga. - With the high school softball postseason in Georgia less than two weeks away, coaches are hoping for signs their teams are about to peak. Heritage coach Steve Chattin need look no more than Thursday night's 10-0 five-inning win at LaFayette.
The Generals (18-6, 11-0) clinched the regular-season championship in Region 7-AAAA with three games to play, and in doing so played perhaps their best game of the season.
"We came out fairly focused tonight, and that was the best we've hit all year," Chattin said. "We have that potential, but we've been struggling in spots to be consistent as we need to be."
Senior pitcher Lauren Lawson again came up big, knocking in the game's first run with a double in the first inning and making the score 4-0 in the second with a three-run homer. Having given herself a big lead, which reached 5-0 when Shelby Hammontree and Sydney Smith had consecutive doubles following Lawson's homer, she cruised to the two-hit shutout.
"It was nice to score first and then for Lauren to hit the big homer to go up 4-0 and take the pressure off," Chattin said. "I personally think we play the toughest schedule in the state, and games like this are why. The games we've lost have been to good teams and they've been close, but in those cases are where we just aren't consistent enough. Tonight we put it all together."
Heritage added four runs in the third on RBI singles from Olivia Tamewitz, Ali Roberts, Hammontree and Smith. The top five batters in the Generals' order had 10 hits in the first three innings, including three from Hammontree.
"This is a great win for us against a good team," Hammontree said. "We're so excited about going into the region tournament as the No. 1 seed. We wanted to clinch it tonight, and we were just focused. We'll be ready when the tournament gets here."
Unlike recent seasons, though, the No. 1 seed does not come with a bye in the eight-team, double-elimination tournament, something Chattin has reminded his team.
"This wraps up the first seed, but in two weeks now everybody is back to 0-0," he said. "I think our region will have some upsets in the tournament. I just hope it isn't Heritage."
Even with the loss, LaFayette (16-7, 7-4) remains in a second-place tie with Ridgeland.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296.