Heritage entered Tuesday night's opening game of the season-ending Region 7-AAAA series against first-place Cedartown in dire need of a win.
The Generals (17-11, 10-6) came in tied with three other teams for second place but stood fifth in any tiebreaker scenario. Not to fear, coach Eric Beagles turned to ace Zach Barrett and he didn't disappoint, limiting a potent Cedartown (19-8, 13-3) lineup to two hits and no earned runs in a 6-1 win.
"Zach had another excellent outing for us," Beagles said. "He's our most experienced pitcher and he really gave us a lift today. To limit a very good Cedartown team to only two hits is quite impressive. He battled through some adversity and got out of a couple of jams and, thankfully, we were able to make the most of our six hits."
Gage Shaver had the big hit for Heritage with a three-run triple, while Barrett helped himself with two RBIs and leadoff man Cannon Stafford scored a pair of runs.
"Today means we took the first step we needed to take in order to control our own destiny in these last three games," Beagles said.
The Generals and Bulldogs complete the regular season with a doubleheader Friday at Heritage.
> Coahulla Creek 4, Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 0: Ben Glines allowed one hit and struck out five in the complete-game win which ties the Colts with LFO at 9-5 in the region. Coahulla Creek, which got two RBIs from Fernando Hernandez, holds the tiebreaker over the Warriors after sweeping both regular season games.
> Ringgold 10, North Murray 0: The Tigers (16-12, 11-3) clinched a playoff berth with the Region 6-AAA win. Isaac King and Hudson Chandler combined for a five-inning no-hitter with five strikeouts, while Mason Parker had two doubles and an RBI and Robbie Bates added two RBIs.
> Trion 8, Armuchee 7: The Bulldogs (14-9, 9-4) clinched the No. 2 seed from Region 6-A public after scoring five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Brantley Willbanks and Brandon Dover had RBI singles in the inning, which also included a pair of runs scoring on an error prior to Connor Deparlier's game-ending bases-loaded walk. Willbanks had two hits and two RBIs, with Jackson Morrison adding two hits and an RBI and Deparlier two hits and two runs scored.
> Gordon Lee 14, Mt. Zion 2: Kade Cowan and Bo Rhudy each went 2-for-2 with three RBIs while Nate Dunfee added a pair of hits and three runs scored for the 16-10, 12-1 Region 6-A public champions.
> Blessed Trinity 9, Calhoun 1: Calhoun's (17-10, 8-6) shot at getting the No. 2 playoff berth from Region 6-AAAAA was lost after Jake Lankie allowed four hits and no earned runs while fanning five batters and Max Puckett hit a three-run homer.
> Baylor 3, Knox Catholic 0: Patrick Johnson threw 62 of his 87 pitches for strikes as the Red Raider senior pitched a complete game gem with nine strikeouts while only allowing three baserunners. John Emendorfter put Baylor on the board with a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth.
> Soddy-Daisy 9, Hixson 5: The Trojans (18-4) broke a five-all tie in the bottom of the sixth as Noah Ferguson sparked the late rally and led all the team with three RBIs. Soddy's Ethan Hixson also drove in a pair along with teammate Kane Johnson adding two hits.
> Sale Creek 8, Copper Basin 2: The Panthers (13-3-1) pulled away with a four-run bottom of the sixth in which Drew Hillian and Camden Penny had RBI singles. Justin Griffin added a pair of RBIs and runs scored while stealing three bases. Brayden Grimes threw three shutout innings for the win, while Jakob Elrod struck out eight in four innings of relief.
> Knox Webb 6, Chattanooga Christian 3: William Wall gave the Chargers the lead in the bottom of the first with a three-run home run. However, Webb's Julian Mays did not allow another run as he struck out 12 in a complete game win.
> Signal Mountain 7, Central 2: Carter Giles had three hits and scored twice while Ben Timblin struck out 10 in a complete game win while adding an RBI double. Blake Wolfard homered for the Eagles in their home district win.
> Walker Valley 7, Bradley Central 2: Aiden Gibson had three hits - including a triple and double - and drove in two runs along with Landon Franklin as the Mustangs handed the Bears their first district loss of the season. Gibson also went the distance on the mound, allowing just three hits and striking out six.
SOFTBALL
> Ooltewah 13, Howard 1: Jaycee Holt had three hits and scored three times out of the leadoff spot and Brooklyn Smith drove in four runs and tripled for the Lady Owls.
> Meigs County 3, McMinn County 1: Sierra Howard drove in two runs in a three-run first inning for the Lady Tigers, who received four innings of no-hit relief from Lainey Fitzgerald, who struck out five to pick up a save.
> Cleveland 4, Walker Valley 3: Ashley Allen drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth on a double to left field. Allen drove in three runs while teammate Kaylee Bayne had three hits, including a pair of doubles. Lily O'Bryan picked up the win in relief with three perfect innings.
> GPS 9, Hixson 1: The Bruisers scored eight runs over their final three at-bats as Ansley Blevins and Abbie Reel led the offensive charge with home runs. McKamey Bratcher drove in two along with Reel in the road win. Hixson's Meghan Kernea had two hits and homered.
> Silverdale Baptist 19, Grace Academy 0: Bentlee Stiner drove in five runs while McCade Cooper doubled twice and had four RBIs for the Lady Seahawks. Katie Willoughby, Kennedy Stinson and Stiner all homered in the win, while Allie Weber struck out seven in three innings.
SOCCER
> Soddy-Daisy 4, Hixson 0: Omar Lopez had two goals and assists for the Trojans, who outshot the Wildcats 13-2. Jose Enriquez, Conor Harvey, Brad Sills and Jensen Harbaugh also stood out in Soddy's win.
> Baylor 3, Boyd Buchanan 0: Riley Shankle and Gui Gragnano each scored and assisted on goals in the first 28 minutes to lead Baylor (10-1) to a strong road victory over previously unbeaten Boyd Buchanan (9-1). Zach Ubamadu starred with nine saves in the win, while Jake Kellerhals, Mac Hickman, Eric Fossen, David Mitchell and Jeb Martin also stood out for the Red Raiders.
Roundup reports compiled by Patrick MacCoon and Lindsey Young. Contact them at sports @timesfreepress.com.