RINGGOLD, Ga. – With three weeks remaining in the GHSA softball regular season, Region 6-AAA has produced a juicy three-team race for the league’s two berths in the championship round.
Sonoraville took a huge step toward getting one of those spots Wednesday with a 9-3 win over Ringgold at Hazel Brown Field, earning a regular-season sweep of the Lady Tigers, who are the reigning state champions. At 6-1 in the region and with basically a two-game lead over Ringgold (6-2), the Lady Phoenix are in the driver’s seat – for now.
That could all change over the next week. The region’s other contender, Coahulla Creek (7-2), can take control with wins over Ringgold on Thursday and Sonoraville next Tuesday. The Lady Colts already own a win over Sonoraville, though they lost earlier to Ringgold.
Ringgold coach Daniel Hackett understands the only thing that matters is getting into the title round. There is no region tournament this year, so the third and fourth playoff teams will be decided based on the regular season.
“I still like our spot, even though we have some tough games with Coahulla Creek, LFO and two with Rockmart,” Hackett said. “We need to take care of business with those three – no easy task – and earn a best-two-of-three shot with Sonoraville for the region championship. We’ve had some off time the past two weeks, and I’m looking forward to the stretch of games that are coming up. I believe our bats will explode soon.”
The problem is, in Sonoraville’s Taylor Long and Coahulla Creek’s Sophia Voyles, Region 6-AAA has two of the top pitchers in the state. Long, a junior, proved her standing with 12 strikeouts and two earned runs allowed Wednesday. She worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the first and, after Ringgold made it a 3-2 game in the third, allowed only three hits the rest of the way.
Sonoraville took a 2-0 lead in the second on a Rebecca Tippett homer and later added six runs in the fifth, with Kelly Green and Tippett getting RBI doubles. Amber Gainer was 3-for-4 for Ringgold, including a solo homer in the seventh and an RBI triple, but Long was able to hold the bottom five Lady Tigers in the lineup hitless in 15 at-bats with 10 strikeouts.
It was Long’s latest standout effort. She now has five wins and an ERA well under 1.00 with 130 strikeouts and 27 hits given up in 63 2/3 innings. The two earned runs she allowed Wednesday were the first in more than 40 innings, a span during which she has fanned more than 100 batters.
Just as impressive has been Coahulla Creek’s Voyles, whose most impressive outing may have been a 10-inning 1-hitter in a 1-0 win over Sonoraville in which she struck out 19. She has also had two no-hitters and a 16-strikeout, one-hitter against Region 7-AAAA power Northwest Whitfield.
“They are legit,” Ringgold’s Hackett said of Long and Voyles. “It’s an adventure every time we face them. Long has really shut the door on us in run-scoring situations, even being able to close things out after throwing over 100 pitches. We strung together a few good at-bats against Voyles and had a good pitching performance against her last time. But I still put her in the same category – she will, like Long, come at you with the same intensity.”
Gordon Lee 6, Calhoun 2: The Lady Trojans (8-2) won this matchup of programs with multiple state titles as Emma Minghini scattered seven hits across seven innings, allowing no earned runs and fanning seven.
Emma Langston was 2-for-3 with three RBIs, with Addison Sturdivant adding a pair of hits and Allie Farrow driving in a run for Gordon Lee.
Lyndi-Rae Davis was 3-for-3 and Jordan Blair 2-for-3 for the Lady Yellow Jackets (7-7).
SOCCER
Baylor 5, Notre Dame 0: Jada Cooper jump-started the offense with a long goal in the 18th minute as the Lady Red Raiders took 17 shots in their home shutout victory. Elizabeth Stophel assisted on two goals and scored off a breakaway run, Sophia Mead, Sophia Mize and Zoey Mize had the other goals and Addison Yelton and Campbell Hoss combined for the shutout in goal.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.