CALHOUN, Ga. – Getting to the GHSA softball state tournament is becoming old hat for Calhoun.
The Lady Yellow Jackets earned their fifth consecutive trip to Columbus with a doubleheader sweep of Franklin County in Class AAA’s second round, 8-0 and 11-5 on Wednesday.
Freshman pitcher Maggie McBrayer, who has already committed to Georgia Tech, limited the visitors to three hits and struck out six in game one. Hot-hitting catcher Adella Carver, Erin Barnes, Lyndi Rae Davis and Carlie Henderson each had two hits as Calhoun rapped out 14.
The Lady Jackets (26-8) took advantage of seven Franklin County errors in game two to score nine unearned runs. Blair Hall was 2-for-2 with four RBIs and two runs scored, with Henderson getting three hits and Carver two more hits and two RBIs.
Hall, despite yielding 11 hits, earned the win.
“In game one, we jumped on them early with three quick runs, and that was the key,” Calhoun coach Diane Smith said. “Maggie McBrayer was awesome today. She is getting better every game, and she looks really comfortable out there. When we hit the ball like that and our pitching is on, we are hard to beat.
“Now, in game two we didn’t hit as well and Blair Hall struggled a bit pitching, but we still won. As long as we can keep winning it’s OK.”
In other second-round series involving northwest Georgia teams:
» Dalton fell in the Class AAAAAA playoffs to 2016 champion Cambridge, losing 8-6 and 9-2. The Lady Catamounts (17-16) held a 5-1 lead in game one but couldn’t hold on despite three hits from Olivia Whaley, two from Keen Johnson and a pair of RBIs from Brooke Bellflower. Johnson added three more hits in game two.
» In Class AAAA, Northwest Whitfield split at Jefferson, losing game one 5-2 before winning 6-5 in game two on Cara Rann’s pinch-hit walk-off home run in the eighth inning. Game three is today at 5 p.m. in Jefferson.
» In Class AAA, Sonoraville pulled off another surprising sweep, this time downing Morgan County, 10-4 and 5-4 in eight innings. The Lady Phoenix (20-15), the No. 4 seed from Region 6, rallied to win the second game on Payton Townsend’s walk-off single.
Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe fell at Jackson County, 8-0 and 11-6.
» In Class A public, Trion won at fifth-seeded Commerce, 5-4 and 14-6, earning a third consecutive trip to Columbus. Whitney Shepherd was the winning pitcher in each game, while Bailey Coker had five hits in the two wins.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296.