Four of the five area programs that reached this week’s GHSA state tournament in Columbus were still alive after the second day of action Thursday at the South Commons Softball Complex.
The common thread connecting the advancing teams was pitching, and no one has been better than Trion’s Hartley Staton.
The sophomore ace followed Wednesday’s no-hitter against Irwin County with a one-hit shutout Thursday to send the Lady Bulldogs (25-5) into the Class A winners-bracket final with a 1-0 victory over Emanuel County Institute. Trion will face Wheeler County at 3:30 p.m. Friday, with the winner needing just one victory Saturday to be crowned state champion.
Also Thursday, 12-time state champion Gordon Lee reached the Class AA winners-bracket final with a 4-2 victory over Banks County behind senior ace Laney Wilson, and Class AAA’s Sonoraville got its second consecutive shutout while topping Morgan County 4-0 to move within a victory of its second straight title after winning the AA championship a year ago.
In Class AAAA, Heritage stayed alive with a 1-0 win over Pickens, but Ridgeland was the victim of a late rally from Harlem in losing 4-3, ending the Lady Panthers’ season at 27-8.