RINGGOLD, Ga. - Though in his first season as a head softball coach, Jason Carter has been around long enough to know that at this time of the year there are very few picture-perfect wins.
His Heritage High School team was far from perfect Wednesday during the team's Class AAAA second-round state playoff doubleheader against Mary Persons, but after 3-1 and 8-6 wins, the 31-4 Generals will be among the eight teams in the double-elimination state tournament next week in Columbus.
"We don't always make it look pretty, but the girls always fight and find a way to move on," Carter said. "They have had to overcome some adversity this week, and we had girls playing in places they're not accustomed to, but they did what they had to do."
Sophomore pitcher Taelyn Bates held the usually hot-hitting Bulldogs to five hits in the first game. Heritage managed 11 hits, led by Olivia Tamewitz' 3-for-3 effort, but could never put the game away. Tied at 1 entering the bottom of the fourth, though, Tamewitz and Shayla Ludy led off with singles and Ali Roberts scored one with a groundout and Ludy later scored on a wild pitch.
The second game was much more wide open. Heritage, batting first, took a 4-3 lead in the fifth on a pair of runs, but the Bulldogs took a 6-4 lead on an RBI single by Allyssah Mullis and a two-run double by Katelyn Smith.
The Generals rallied for a single run in the sixth on Katie Proctor's RBI double and tied it in the seventh by putting pressure on the visitors. Roberts led off with an infield single and Sydney Smith sacrificed her to second. On the play, Roberts aggressively rounded second, drawing an errant throw that sailed into the outfield and allowed her to score the tying run.
"They had booted a couple of ground balls there, so we wanted to put some pressure on them in those last couple of innings," Carter said. "That game was like a tennis match, back and forth. We had a couple of opportunities to break it open, but we couldn't get it done."
They did, however, keep the pressure on in the eighth. With a runner at second under international tiebreaker rules, Shelby Hammontree walked, Bates sacrificed and Tamewitz walked to load the bases. Ludy hit a sacrifice fly for a 7-6 lead and Roberts followed with an RBI infield single to make it 8-6.
Bates, who came on in relief of Madi Morris, retired the side in order in the bottom half to secure the sweep.
"Taelyn Bates really stepped up for us pitching tonight," said senior Tamewitz. "We just did what we had to do offensive-wise. I never had a doubt we would win tonight, though it was close. Our goal is always to win the state and now we get a chance."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him at Twitter.com/youngsports22.