CALHOUN, Ga. - At first glance the softball resume for Sonoraville High School isn't very impressive.
The Lady Phoenix enter play today in the GHSA state tournament in Columbus with 15 losses, the most among teams in the Class AAA Elite Eight. A closer look, however, reveals a team that has a few scars, sure, but that won't see anything this weekend it hasn't seen already.
Teams in Region 6-AAA either survive the gauntlet of elite teams or get worn down. For Sonoraville coach Chad Hayes, the plan this season was to avoid running on fumes in October, even if that meant a less-than-gaudy record.
"We've had an up and down year, but our record (20-15) doesn't indicate how good we've been most of the year," the sixth-year coach said. "We were bangued up near the end of the regular season, so we had to try and survive until we were healthy, and fortunately we did."
Junior pitcher Kristen Davis had a back ailment and power-hitting third baseman Griffin Holden also was injured just before the region tournament. Hayes elected to sit them out even though they could have played.
It was a tough call for a team that had earned the top seed from the south subregion, which also includes two other teams headed to Columbus in Calhoun and Bremen. Sonoraville lost to each in the region tournament and was relegated to the No. 4 seed.
GHSA championships in Columbus
Opening games today for area teamsClass AAAA› Northwest Whitfield (29-5) vs. Eastside (20-13), 5Class AAA› Sonoraville (20-15) vs. Worth County (27-1), 3› Calhoun (26-8) vs. Rutland (19-9), 5Class A public› Gordon Lee (28-3) vs. GMC (18-7), 9 a.m.› Trion (19-9) vs. Marion County (20-3), 9 a.m.
"Ending up fourth didn't turn out too bad for us," said Hayes, whose now-healthy team swept region champion Lovett. "I felt good about the matchup even being a four seed, and we played well that series."
The next round was even more difficult. Morgan County is annually a state power and had beaten Sonoraville in the program's first trip to Columbus and eliminated the Lady Phoenix in last year's first round of the playoffs.
"Weren't really looking forward to playing them again, but we felt better about the matchup this time," Hayes said after sweeping the best-of-three series 10-4 and 5-4 in eight innings. "That was a big hump to get over for us."
The formula for Sonoraville's success revolves around strong pitching from Davis (1.74 ERA) and Alyssa Hughes (1.89) and a potent top of the lineup: Harleigh Chastain (.472 average, 33 runs, 23 stolen bases), Davis (.449, 27 RBIs), Sandra Beth Pritchett (.430, 21 RBIs) and Holden (23 RBIs, 20 runs).
The challenge gets even tougher starting today when the Lady Phoenix open with 27-1 Worth County. Hayes is confident his group won't be overwhelmed after surviving Region 6-AAA.
"I told a lot of people that our region, top to bottom, is the strongest in the state, especially in triple-A," he said. "The three teams that made it are all from the same subregion and we've all beaten each other, so we know we can play with anybody."
Sonoraville, Calhoun and Bremen are joined in Columbus by Northwest Whitfield in Class AAAA and Class A public rivals Gordon Lee and Trion, who would meet in the second round tonight if each wins this morning.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296; follow on Twitter @youngsports