RINGGOLD, Ga. - Daniel Hackett admits he loves for his Ringgold High School softball team to play small ball, but the coach also realizes there are times to absolutely swing away.
Tied at 2-2 and with runners on second and third in the fifth inning Thursday against Region 6-AAA rival Calhoun, two attempts to apply pressure with bunts failed. What could have been a momentum-killing moment, however, turned decisive as sophomore Baileigh Pitts saved the Lady Tigers with a two-run double, sparking an eight-run inning that led to a 9-4 win.
The Lady Tigers (11-3, 6-0), who now own league wins over Calhoun (12-6, 5-1) and Sonoraville (8-5, 4-1), are one win away from clinching the top seed for what will be a revamped 6-AAA postseason. League teams play each other only once during the regular season. The top two teams will face off in a best-of-three series to determine the champion, and the next six teams will conduct a tournament to determine the final two playoff qualifiers.
"It's a huge, huge win for us," Hackett said. "We used to play everybody twice in the region, and once we got in the region tournament we would play some teams four times before we got to state. We're trying to minimize it some, and it allows us to play more local nonregion teams."
Calhoun has long been a thorn in Ringgold's side, having won three AAA state championships in the past five seasons, including beating the Lady Tigers to clinch the 2014 title.
In this meeting, Hackett's aggressive coaching led to five errors by the Lady Yellow Jackets, though he admits the fifth inning nearly backfired on him. A leadoff single by Ava Raby and two errors made it 2-all, but back-to-back bunts that popped up nearly stalled the offense before Pitts delivered her two-run double to center.
"That was a huge hit by Baileigh," Hackett said. "The girls worked so hard to get on base, and we weren't getting anything out of it. I love to bunt, but we got nothing out of those two. That at-bat just completely turned it around. The girls that followed her were huge."
After a Riley Nayadley single and a walk, Jade Gainer singled in two runs. Two batters later, Caroline Hemphill doubled in a pair for an 8-2 lead, and Autumn Green later brought in the final run after being hit with the bases loaded.
"This season, this is a dangerous lineup," Hackett said. "Our six, seven, eight (hitters) had huge at-bats, too, tonight. It was just exciting to see. We've had the top of the lineup come through huge all season, and we've had the bottom do it as well. It looks good when we're clicking at the right time."
Kaylee Phillips earned the pitching win by scattering 11 hits and striking out three batters, while Calhoun's Maggie McBrayer allowed one earned run in taking the loss.
Hemphill and Nayadley each had two hits for Ringgold. Carlie Henderson had three hits, Molly Baker two hits and three RBIs and Erin Barnes two hits and two runs scored for Calhoun.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.