TRENTON, Ga. — It’s a rare occurrence when a fastpitch softball team — at any level — wins anything of consequence with average pitching.
Big batting averages are nice, but make no mistake, pitching wins championships. It’s a fact that Dade County High School coach Stephen Graham knows all too well, and it’s a reason he was smiling after the Lady Wolverines swept a pair of home games Wednesday in a GHSA Class A Division I super regional.
Dade pitchers Lexi Lawson and Kayleigh Warnock allowed seven hits and no earned runs in 12 innings in 6-1 and 9-1 wins over St. Francis and Commerce, respectively. The Lady Wolverines (20-6), the Region 7 champions, will face the winner of the Jasper County-Commerce game at 1 p.m. Thursday in the championship round, needing to win once (a second game would follow if Dade loses) to advance to the eight-team state tournament next week in Columbus.
“The big thing is our pitching was on point today,” Graham said. “We started our sophomore, Lexi Lawson, in game one and she did really well against St. Francis, and Kayleigh Warnock kept up her recent hot streak with another great outing. After a slow start, in her last 10 games she’s averaging 10 or more strikeouts.
“With softball, as everybody knows, it takes great pitching to win. When you have someone dominating in the circle, it also takes pressure off your hitters.”