Ridgeland reaches softball Elite Eight with pair of routs

Ridgeland's Kiera Foster (22) gets a congratulatory hand slap from assistant coach Justin Carruth at first during the first of two games Tuesday night. The Panthers defeated Woodward Academy in 11-1, and 13-0 in the GHSA Class AAAA second round playoffs at home.
Ridgeland's Kiera Foster (22) gets a congratulatory hand slap from assistant coach Justin Carruth at first during the first of two games Tuesday night. The Panthers defeated Woodward Academy in 11-1, and 13-0 in the GHSA Class AAAA second round playoffs at home.
photo Staff photo by Tim Barber Ridgeland pitcher Morgan Crawford drives home two runs with a stand-up double on this swing of the bat in a 10-hit third inning to defeat Woodward Academy in 11-1 in the first game. The Lady Panthers won 13-0 in the second game of the GHSA Class AAAA second0round playoffs at home Tuesday night.

Had Tuesday night's GHSA Class AAAA second-round softball doubleheader at Ridgeland gone on any longer, a dangerous situation might have come into play.

Skittles were in short supply in the Lady Panthers' dugout. The tasty candy is handed out to players after they get base hits, and by the time Ridgeland had finished off visiting Woodward Academy, 11-1 and 13-0, the once-bountiful supply had dwindled mightily.

The Lady Panthers (22-7) rapped out 31 hits in just eight innings of batting in the two mercy-rule games and will head to the Elite Eight in Columbus for the first time since 2003. They will face the winner of the Columbus/Marist second-round series, which starts today.

"They wanted it badly," Ridgeland coach Richie Wood said. "We've still got a few hiccups to get rid of before we head to state, but I'm very proud of them. They showed tonight they've got everything it takes to win this thing. We've just got to get back to practice and get our hearts and minds right."

Game one got out of hand in the third inning when the sweet-swinging Lady Panthers scored eight runs on 10 hits. Among the highlights were RBI singles from Cortney Mooneyham and Katie Carruth, a two-run triple from Haley Sandridge, Morgan Crawford's two-run double and two hits apiece in the inning from Grayson James and Kiera Foster.

Crawford, the big lead in hand, pitched through a bit of wildness in the fourth inning, walking two and allowing a run, but she struck out two to end the threat and left the bases loaded. She struck out nine in the five-inning complete game and allowed just three hits.

Game two was more of the same. Katie Davis, who was 4-for-4 and was hit once in the doubleheader, had an RBI single and Sandridge a two-run single as Ridgeland went up 3-0 in the second inning. The lead quickly grew to 6-0 with three more in the third, two scoring on Crawford's 11th home run of the season.

The Lady Panthers sent 11 batters to the plate to put the game away in the fourth, with Sandridge knocking in two runs with a single and Mooneyham and Carruth adding RBI hits. Allison Wallin, one of three seniors along with Crawford and Mooneyham, earned the pitching win on a one-hitter.

"This means so much, especially since we haven't been to Columbus in so long," said junior shortstop Sandridge, who was 4-for-7 with seven RBIs. "Our defense is on point; our offense is on point; our pitching is on point. We are going to be tough to beat."

Wood, in his fourth year as head coach, was trying to keep his hyped team a bit grounded afterward.

"We're still not where I want them to be," he said. "There are still baserunning mistakes, mental mistakes and missed signs. We've got everything it takes to win this thing - hitting, pitching and defense. Now if we can just jack the softball IQ up a bit, we will be ready for everything."

Volleyball Bruins roll

In the Class AAAA second-round volleyball match at Northwest Whitfield, the Lady Bruins defeated Chapel Hill 3-0 by set scores of 25-11, 25-15, 25-15.

Kaley Long had six kills with Holly Heath and Shelby Morrison getting five each. Malane Kyer led Northwest with 16 assists, Abigail Crawford adding six aces and Shelby Gordon contributing five aces and nine digs.

The Lady Briuns advance to the Elite Eight, where they will play again Saturday. The GHSA will seed the remaining teams, with the top four seeds hosting matches.

Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296; follow on Twitter @youngsports22.

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