CHICKAMAUGA, Ga. - The winning streak reached 29 games, but while a point of pride for Gordon Lee's softball team, it is anything but a focal point for the Lady Trojans.
A pair of 14-0 mercy-rule victories against Hawkinsville were the 28th and 29th notches - against just one loss - and took a total of just 7 1/2 innings Wednesday. Those two wins, their first in the Class A public school state playoffs after receiving a first-round bye, swept the best-of-three series and propelled the Lady Trojans into their 14th state tournament under coach Dana Mull.
"Honestly, I don't even know what (the streak) is because we don't focus on that," Mull said. "It's awesome for these girls, but right now our focus is on the next game and it means nothing at this point. Everybody will be fresh and everybody is 0-0 going into the tournament."
That eight-team tournament starts a week from today in Columbus.
The two Wednesday wins were both efficient and convincing, to say the least, over a south Georgia opponent – they hail from near Perry – that traveled at least five hours to get here.
Canaan Burnett started both games, and she and Janie Durham allowed just four hits between them, with two of those coming in the Red Devils' final at-bat in the second game.
There were multiple stars for the Lady Trojans, none bigger than Gracey Kruse, who had a 5-for-7 plate showing that included a grand slam. She scored four runs and picked up seven RBIs.
In the first game, Burnett went 3-for-3 and K.G. McElhaney was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs.
Kruse led the second game with a 3-for-4, four-RBI showing, but Faith Alexander and Paxton Grimes added two hits apiece.
Gordon Lee softball never seems to change, yet never gets old. The Lady Trojans tend to play error-free defense behind solid pitching, they bunt with expertise that belies their youth and they apply pressure with a baserunning style that would rattle even the most proficient of defenders.
When asked about this team playing that run-them-ragged pressure offense, Mull agreed.
"That's kind of this team's style this year, and we'll short-game you if we need to and then we have some that can hit," she said. "We feel like we're going to find the other team's weakness and use it to our advantage, and I think this team has been good at doing that."
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him on Twitter @wardgossett.