Gordon Lee pitcher Emily Armour delivers to the plate against Bacon County on Wednesday.CHICKAMAUGA, Ga. - Gordon Lee's softball team unleashed a deadly mix of speed and power Wednesday to sweep its way into the GHSA Class AA softball state tournament next week in Columbus.
The Lady Trojans (31-1) needed just 10 total innings to eliminate Bacon County from the second round of the state playoffs with 8-0 and 12-1 wins in the best-of-three series.
They rapped out 19 hits, five of them home runs. Gracey Kruse and Shay Wooten hit one in each game and Bailey Miller added one in the second game.
"I was real pleased offensively," winning coach Dana Mull said. "Even in innings we didn't score, we had runners on base. We had several clutch hits, which is something I've been preaching on all year. I think we have a good mix of speed and power, and some of that power came alive tonight. Hopefully we can continue to do that in Columbus."
Gordon Lee will be among the final eight teams competing in the double-elimination tournament there.
While the bats were booming Wednesday, senior pitcher Emily Armour, after a sluggish start trying to find her release point, was her usual dominant self. She allowed a hit in each game and struck out 17.
The Gordon Lee speed stole the show early as leadoff batter Faith Alexander singled and stole the first of her three bases. Miller bunted for a single and Kruse followed with another for a 1-0 lead. Canaan Burnett added a two-run single to up the lead to three.
A four-run fourth, highlighted by Kruse and Wooten's two-run homers, put the game away.
Two Bacon County errors helped Gordon Lee take a 3-0 lead in the second game's first inning before the Lady Trojans scored six times on four hits in the third, with Briley Dunn plating two with a single.
Wooten, Kruse and Miller later added solo homers to complete the dominant day.
"We were ready to come out here and hit today," said Kruse, who had five hits in the doubleheader. "We were really more nervous today than we usually are because this is the round that determined if we were going to state or not. We settled down, had some fun and did our job."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296. Follow him at Twitter.com/youngsports22.
Gordon Lee's Faith Alexander slides safely into second as Bacon County's Haley Whitley makes the catch at the Gordon Lee High School softball field Wednesday, October 21, 2015.