CHICKAMAUGA, Ga. - Gordon Lee softball coach Dana Mull might want to consider buying a timeshare in Columbus.
Mull and the Lady Trojans will return to the western Georgia city for the 15th time in a row next week for the GHSA's Class A public school state tournament. They won the title last season and have six championships in the past seven years.
Gordon Lee swept Schley County at home Wednesday evening, 4-1 and 20-1, in a best-of-three second-round playoff series.
"The first game it took us a while to get back in our rhythm offensively," Mull said. "We settled in the second game and did what we're capable of. Just getting there gets that monkey off our back, and now we have to focus on the next game."
Coming off of first-round bye, Gordon Lee (28-3) hadn't played in 12 days. It showed at the plate in the first game, when the Lady Trojans only plated four runs on six hits, with only one going for extra bases.
Senior pitcher Canaan Burnett took matters into her own hands in the circle, however, throwing a complete game five-hitter and striking out 10. The only run she allowed was unearned and came in the final inning.
Burnett also did most of the damage at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a home run and three RBIs.
After knocking the rust off in game one, the Lady Trojans' offense squared up ball after ball against Schley County (17-11) in game two. Gordon Lee scored four runs in the first inning before the Lady Wildcats got an out and finished the inning with a 5-0 lead.
The Lady Trojans poured it on over the next three innings and finished the big with 19 hits, with the highlight a towering two-run blast in the second inning by junior Paxton Grimes that hit over halfway up on the roof of the fieldhouse in left-center field. Grimes finished the game 3-for-4 with four runs scored and three RBIs.
Gordon Lee got another dominant pitching performance, this time from freshman Emma Manghini. She allowed one run on two hits, setting down the first nine hitters she faced as the Lady Trojans won by the mercy rule in four innings.
"All of our pitchers are capable of doing things different because they bring something different to the table," Mull said. "It's nice that if one of them isn't on we have another we can go to. They both pitched well tonight."
The Lady Trojans will begin their bid for another title next Thursday, but Mull knows this team still has something to prove.
"Each team is a different team with a new group of seniors, and they want to prove themselves," said Mull. "That will challenge them even more, because they want to go out on top."