RINGGOLD, Ga. - Shane Pendley doesn't try to complicate matters when assessing his team, so when asked about the key to Ringgold's first-round sweep of Fannin County in the Class AAA softball state playoffs, the coach shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, it's hard to lose if you don't give up any runs," Pendley said after the Lady Tigers won by scores of 6-0 and 13-0 Wednesday. "Our pitching was great today, and the girls just took care of business."
Abby McKinney pitched a one-hit shutout in the first game and Katie Cain allowed two singles in the five-inning second game. Ringgold (24-5) managed 23 hits for the day, with 16 of them coming in the second game after the hard-swinging team started timing the slower Fannin (13-14) pitchers.
"I didn't feel like when we came out that we were real focused," Pendley said. "Their pitching was a little slower than we were accustomed to, and we never really adjusted in the first game. We finally did that in the second game and figured it out."
Ringgold will travel to Rutland next Wednesday to start a best-of-three second-round series, with the winner advancing to Columbus and the eight-team, double-elimination state tournament.
The Lady Tigers, still smarting after winning the Region 6-AAA regular-season title only to lose to Calhoun in the tournament title round, strung together three hits in the second inning of the first game to extend a 1-0 lead to 4-0, with Taylor Chadwick getting her second hit in as many innings, an RBI double.
McKinney was never in trouble in the circle, allowing no runners past second base and striking out seven. The win was capped in the sixth inning when freshman Alysia Carr hit a pinch-hit, two-run home run.
The second game was over quickly. The Lady Tigers scored twice in the first inning and four more times in the second to completely take the starch out of the visitors.
Chadwick, who went 3-for-4 after a 2-for-3 effort in the opener, drove in three runs and scored twice, while Karoline Sholl scored twice, McKinney had a pair of RBIs, Kaylee Womack had two hits and three RBIs and the bottom three batters in the order scored seven times.
"We had to come out and take care of business, hit the ball well and get two wins," Chadwick said. "If we did what we were supposed to do, we knew we would be OK. The first game was a little rough because we couldn't get the bats going due to their pitching, but we adjusted and hit better the second game."
Pendley was pleased his team could put it together after last week's loss to Calhoun. The Lady Tigers had rallied to cut Calhoun's lead to one when foul weather caused the game to be halted and then declared a final.
"It was tough because we had all the momentum in that game, and my girls were really disappointed," Pendley said. "It was hard to get up off the deck two years in a row. That's that one hump we still need to get over, and if we get another shot I believe we could."
* Speaking of Calhoun, the Lady Yellow Jackets had little trouble in their first-round series with Dawson County, winning 14-2 and 12-0 and rapping out 17 hits in each mercy-rule game. Emily Weatherman had six hits, including a home run, triple and two doubles, while Ryan Brzozoski also had six hits and Ashlyn Barnes added five. Emily Mitchell pitched three innings of shutout ball to win game one, while Kinsey Liscio pitched a five-inning one hitter in game two. The Lady Yellow Jackets (29-3) will host Jackson next Wednesday.
* Dalton swept its Class AAAAA first-round series against Druid Hills, 13-0 and 11-1. Alli Swinford was the winning pitcher in each game, going seven total innings and striking out 15. She and Lauren Parker drove in two runs each in game one, while Kianna Adams plated a pair in the second game. The Lady Catamounts (22-10) will travel to Savannah to face Region 3 champion Richmond Hill next Wednesday as they try to advance to Columbus for the first time in program history.
* Region 7-AAAA champion Heritage also swept its way into the second round, routing Chamblee 12-0 and 21-1. Sydnee Smith had seven hits and eight RBIs, while Brooklynn Frazier had three triples. The Generals (29-4) will host Mary Persons next Wednesday.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296. Follow him at Twitter.com/youngsports22.