Lady Indians fall to Northside of Columbus 5-1
Hannah George pitched seven strong innings limiting Stephens County to five hits and one run while striking out eleven to lead Northside of Columbus to a 5-1 victory over the Lady Indians in the GHSA Elite Eight AAAA softball state championships.
Northside came in to the game averaging nearly 10 runs per game in the state tournament, but Stephens County’s outstanding junior hurler Emma Whitfield kept them at bay for most of the game striking out 12 and limiting the powerful Patriot offense to seven hits.
Northside got on the board first with Mary Beth Calahan’s two-out two run homer in the second inning. They extended their lead to 3-0 in the top of the fifth on a Kennedi Bedell RBI single.
Stephens County got one back in the bottom of the inning when Whitfield and Ashton Ayers singled, and then Kasey Westmoreland, running for Whitfield, scored when Ayers was thrown out attempting to steal second.
Northside added two more runs in the top of the 7th inning to complete the scoring.
Stephens County is still alive in the double elimination tournament and face an elimination game against Eastside today at noon.
In other AAAA Elite Eight games West Laurens defeated Madison County 9-4, Northwest Whitfield shutout Eastside 8-0, and Marist shutout Perry 14-0.
In the Winner’s Bracket games West Laurens defeated Marist 13-3, and Northside-Columbus defeated Northwest Whitfield 8-1.
Other area teams involved in tournament play but in other classifications included Banks County falling to the elimination bracket with a 3-2 loss to Harlem, and jJackson County won their opener today 4-2 over Pike County, but fell from the winner’s bracket last night losing to Worth County 4-2.
Today’s games will pit Stephens County Vs. Eastside at noon with the winner to face Marist at 4 P.M., and Perry vs. Madison County at noon with the winner to face Northwest Whitfield at 4 P.M.
Northside of Columbus and West Laurens will meet at 6 P.M. with the winner advancing to the State title game.
WNEG will have the live broadcast of the Stephens County-Eastside game with airtime later this morning at 11:45 A.M. and first pitch at 12 noon.