Gordon Lee defeated two familiar foes Thursday during day one of the GHSA Softball Championships in Columbus. To reach the Class A public championship round the Lady Trojans will have to defeat another one.
After winning 7-2 over Georgia Military College, a program they have beaten and lost two in Columbus in recent years, the Lady Trojans got past Region 6 rival Trion, 5-1, in the second round. Gordon Lee (30-3) will next play another region foe, Mount Zion, in today's winners-bracket final.
Also winning twice Thursday was Calhoun in Class AAA. The Lady Yellow Jackets (28-8), who are undefeated in the postseason so far, defeated Rutland 8-0 in the opening round before rolling through Region 6 foe Bremen, 14-1, late Thursday.
Calhoun will play in the winners-bracket final tonight at 6 against Worth County.
Northwest Whitfield split a pair of games in Class AAAA, downing Eastside 8-0 before falling 8-1 to powerful Northside, Columbus. Northwest's Lady Bruins (30-6) will play the winner of the Perry/Madison County losers-bracket game today at 4.
In Class AAA, Sonoraville lost its opener to Worth County, 4-0. The Lady Phoenix (20-16) will play Pike County in a losers-bracket game at 4 and would need to win twice more to stay alive.
Gordon Lee rapped out 13 hits in the opening-round win over GMS, with Gracey Kruse and Paxton Grimes hitting home runs and Canaan Burnette getting a pair of doubles among her three hits.
The Lady Trojans managed only six hits against Trion, but leadoff hitter Faith Alexander had three of them and scored a run. Kruse knocked in two runs with a single in the third inning that erased a 1-0 Trion lead. Burnette earned the win with four innings of strong pitching, with Emma Minghini, as she did in game one, getting the save.
Trion (20-10), which earlier defeated Marion County 3-2 in eight innings, will face the winner of Bowdon/Emanuel County Institute at 2 in the losers bracket.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296; follow on Twitter @youngsports22