Staying in the winners bracket was everyone's goal at the GHSA softball state championships in rainy Columbus, and three northwest Georgia teams did just that Friday.
Two of those, rivals Gordon Lee and Trion, will meet in the Class A public winners-bracket final this morning after Gordon Lee defeated Marion County 5-1 on Emma Minghini's one-hitter and the Lady Bulldogs rolled past Lanier County 15-2 after getting home runs from Gracie Burns and Shelby Carlock.
The other area team remaining perfect was Heritage, which rallied with seven runs in the fifth inning to defeat nemesis Madison County in Class AAAA. Reagan Armour hit her third homer of the tournament, while Rachel Gibson struck out seven and allowed three earned runs while also going 3-for-3 with an RBI.
The Lady Generals will face Hampton in this morning's winners-bracket final. Hampton defeated LaFayette 1-0 in the second round Friday, with pitcher Skylar Trahan holding the Lady Ramblers to one hit. LaFayette also couldn't score against Northside-Columbus and was eliminated in a 5-0 loss.
The other area team still alive is Sonoraville in Class AAA. The Lady Phoenix lost 4-3 to Franklin County in the second round before eliminating Cook 8-3 as Kristen Davis struck out 10 and hit one of the team's three homers. Sonoraville will play in the losers bracket at 10:45 this morning.
Calhoun's bid to repeat as Class AAA champion ended with its second loss in a row, 6-4 to Cook earlier Friday.
In AAAAAA, Dalton was also eliminated after winning its first game. The Lady Catamounts lost 16-0 to Region 6 rival Allatoona before falling 3-1 to Pope.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.