RINGGOLD, Ga. - Ringgold softball pitcher Kaylee Phillips admitted she was tired after Tuesday evening's Region 6-AAA tournament championship doubleheader.
That's understandable, as the senior pitched all 16 innings for the Lady Tigers, picking up both wins as her team swept rival Calhoun in the best-of-three series 4-2 and 3-1. Top-ranked in the classification, Ringgold earned the region's No. 1 seed in the GHSA state playoffs that start next week.
"I just try not to think about how big the game is and just pitch it like every other game," Phillips said. "Now we just have to relax moving forward and know that it's just a game. It will help having our crowd behind us."
Not afraid to pitch to contact, Phillips weaved in and out of trouble all night for Ringgold (21-3) as she induced soft contact and trusted her stellar defense. She gave up just three runs despite striking out just five batters and allowing baserunners in all but four innings.
"Kaylee hasn't worked any harder than she did this past summer to get to where she is right now," said Ringgold coach Daniel Hackett. "She is phenomenal and she showed it tonight. We got big hits when we needed them and put the ball in play, which forced them to make plays."
Game one was a nine-inning thriller filled with big swings and lost opportunities, as the teams combined to leave 19 runners on base.
Calhoun (16-12) jumped to a 2-0 lead in the second inning on a home run by junior Hannah Mashburn. Mashburn also kept the Lady Jackets in the game defensively, throwing two runners out at the plate, the second of which ended the seventh inning and momentarily saved the game.
Ringgold answered in the bottom of the second with a homer to center that went in and out of Calhoun's Carly Henderson's glove. Riley Nayadley tied the score in the next inning with another solo blast.
The score remained tied until the bottom of the ninth inning. With a runner on third and one out, junior Amber Gainer hit a walk-off homer to win the game.
"I was very nervous," Gainer admitted. "My sister (Jade) told me to breathe, and then Riley told me I was going to hit a dinger. I just envisioned hitting the ball in the box, and then I did it."
Ringgold looked as if it was going to build on that momentum in game two. Playing as the visitors, the Lady Tigers scored in the first inning to take a quick one-run lead.
Despite getting eight hits in the first four innings, Ringgold would leave nine runners on base and was not able to increase its lead. Calhoun tied it in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single by Mattie Jane Mashburn.
Ringgold responded, however, with two runs in the top of the sixth on three straight singles and a sacrifice fly, and Phillips made that lead stand up for the Lady Tigers' first region tournament championship since 2013.
Contact Kevin Llewallyn at sports@timesfreepress.com.