RINGGOLD, Ga. – It’s rare in any competitive athletic event when opposing head coaches both leave the field of play with more positives than negatives.
Such was the case, though, in Heritage’s 5-2 Region 7-AAA softball win Tuesday night against Ridgeland. For the winning Generals (20-3, 6-1), ranked second in the state, the positive was the dominating start to the game, with all five of their runs in the first three innings.
The ninth-ranked Lady Panthers (9-5, 5-2) could take pride in a never-give-up attitude that brought the tying run to the plate twice in the final two innings.
Of course, each coach acknowledged a downside to his team’s effort.
“It always helps when you’re playing Ridgeland to get off to a good start,” Heritage coach Chattin said. “They’re a tough team that never stops and we’re both ranked, so it was good to come out ahead. I don’t think we stayed sharp after the good start, though.”
Chattin wasn’t pleased his team left nine runners on base, including three in the first inning after scoring the first run of the game on Kristen West’s single. The Generals took advantage of their opportunities better in the third, when they had six hits, including Savannah Goldsmith’s two-run double, scored four runs and chased Ridgeland starting pitcher Hannah Tucker.
Ridgeland left its share of runners on as well, including two in the third, fifth, sixth and seventh innings. The Lady Panthers finally broke through in the sixth against Heritage’s Marissa Patterson, scoring on Chelsey Sizemore’s fielder’s choice and on Kiera Coln’s two-out single.
Ridgeland threatened again in the seventh after Courtnee Hall’s third hit of the game to lead off the inning, followed by Kara Goins’ single. But Patterson retired the next three, two on strikeouts, to end the game.
“We took a lot of positives out of this game,” Ridgeland coach Scott Harden said. “Those are the first two runs we’ve ever scored here. It’s hard to score against them. They have a great team, well coached and have a great pitcher in the circle. For us to score a couple of runs and to have a chance with one swing to tie it or even go ahead, that says a lot about this team.”
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or (423)757-6296.