High school softball roundup: Lady Catamounts upset two ranked teams, advance to region championship

Published 11:02 pm Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Dalton 6, Allatoona 3

After having already eliminated the No. 6 team in Class 6-A from the region tournament, Dalton High School sent the No. 2 team in the state home as well with a victory that advanced the Lady Catamounts to the Region 6-6A championship.

With the win Dalton advances to play Harrison today at Twin Creeks Softball Complex in Woodstock at 5 p.m. Since Dalton advanced to the championship from the loser’s bracket, the Lady Catamounts need to beat Harrison twice to win the region championship. If Dalton wins the game at 5, a second and final game will be played at 7. The victory also guarantees Dalton will host a state playoff series next week with the opponent still undetermined.

“That was huge for us to get the opportunity to host a state playoff series,” head coach Stacy Parker said. “The girls were excited, the coaches were excited and so were the parents. Hopefully we can finish it tomorrow.”

Having lost to Allatoona three times already this season including once earlier in the week, the victory was significant for Dalton’s players and Parker.

“That was the biggest game we played all year,” Parker said. “I told them they had nothing to lose and I’m just so proud of the entire team. Everybody contributed.”

McCall Maret continued to be a catalyst for the Dalton offense with a triple in the first inning. Keen Johnson drove in Maret with a single in the following at-bat and Dalton led 1-0 after one inning. Dalton loaded the bases in the following inning and again it was Maret who put the pressure on the Allatoona defense and came through with a sharply hit ground ball. Sydney Ault and Natalie Moya both scored on the play as Maret reached base on an error and Dalton held a 3-0 lead after two innings.

On a team led by seniors, sophomore Emily Brunson pitched a complete game for Dalton and held Allatoona to three earned runs on three hits. Brunson held Allatoona scoreless through the first three innings and in the fourth inning Brooke Belflower’s three-run home run gave Dalton a 6-0 lead. Belflower finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs and Maret finished 1-for-4 with a run scored. Dalton tallied just five hits in the game, but the home run by Belflower proved to be the biggest of the night.

Allatoona responded with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and one more in the bottom of the sixth cutting Dalton’s lead in half, but Brunson set Allatoona down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the seventh and Dalton held on for victory.

“The two games we played tonight were just as big if not bigger than any games these seniors have ever played,” Parker said. “Our girls are used to playing in big games and a lot of that just comes from experience of having been there before. I told them to go finish it in style tomorrow.”

Dalton 12, Creekview 5

In action from earlier in the day, after splitting the regular season series the Lady Catamounts defeated No. 6 Creekview on Wednesday night in the third round of the Region 6-6A tournament.

Both teams came out swinging and Creekview held a 3-2 lead after one inning and both teams scored one run apiece in the third inning before what turned out to be the pivotal fourth inning.

Back-to-back-to-back RBI-singles by Belflower, Maret and Johnson followed by an RBI-triple by Olivia Whaley led to a five-run fourth inning for Dalton to break the game wide open. Dalton led 8-5 after the inning and added four more runs to win in convincing fashion while tallying 16 base hits.

Maret finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored and Whaley finished 4-for-5 with two RBIs and was a home run shy of the cycle. Johnson and Lauren Parker each had two base hits for Dalton as well.

Elly Souther pitched a complete game allowing 10 hits and five earned runs, but settled down in the final three innings surrendering no runs as Dalton held on to advance.

Ringgold 8, Coahulla Creek 8

Playing in the third round of the Region 6-3A tournament the Lady Colts fell to Ringgold in a tightly contested game that featured five ties and five lead changes. Coahulla Creek rallied to tie the game at 5-5 in the fourth and tied the game again at 6-6 in the fifth, but a two-run home run by Ringgold in the top of the sixth inning was too much to overcome.

Coahulla Creek was eliminated from the Region 6-6A tournament and will wait to see where they will play in the first round of the state playoffs.

“We wanted to win region but we are excited to be moving forward to state,” head coach Josh Swiney said. “I think our region will be well represented with us, Calhoun, Sonoraville and Ringgold.”

Coahulla Creek led 2-1 after one inning but a four-run top of the third inning gave Ringgold a 5-1 lead and the upperhand in the middle innings. R.J. Janke doubled home Mikayla Teems in the bottom of the third and Janke scored later in the inning on an error to cut the lead to 5-4. The Lady Colts scored one more run in each of the next two innings, each time to tie the game, but the two-run home run by Ringgold in the sixth gave the Lady Tigers a lead they would not relinquish.

“I’m extremely proud of our players and our staff,” Swiney said. “We’ve worked hard to get here and we’re excited to get started in state.”

Coahulla Creek 9, Adairsville 2

In action from earlier in the day, Emma Snyder and Peyton Warnix had two-RBI doubles in the first inning for Coahulla Creek as the Lady Colts won their second-round game in the Region 6-3A tournament at Calhoun Rec Center.

Sophia Voyles pitched a complete game for Coahulla Creek allowing six hits, two earned runs, two walks while striking out seven. The Lady Colts built a 9-0 lead before Adairsville scored one run in the fourth inning and another run in the fifth. Coahulla Creek out-hit Adairsville 12-to-6 with eight of nine starters recording base hits. Janke finished 1-for-3 with two RBIs, Snyder finished 2-for-2 with two RBIs and Warnix finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Voyles was the only Colt player not record a base hit but her pitching performance was more than enough for Coahulla Creek to advance to the third round.

Mount Zion 3, Christian Heritage 2

Playing the last game of the regular season, Christian Heritage (7-12, 4-9 in Region 6-A) lost on the road on Tuesday night at Mount Zion-Carrollton.

Christian Heritage plays today at home against Mount Paran at 4 p.m. in the first round of the Region 6-A tournament. Christian Heritage hosts the entire Region 6-A tournament with the semifinals and finals on Saturday.

Christian Heritage led 2-1 entering the sixth inning when Mount Zion hit a two-run, go-ahead home run which would hold as the decisive blow. MacKenzie Hoffman finished the game 2-for-3 and Tessa Hawkins finished the game 2-for-4 with a double for Christian Heritage. Ellisa Costello finished 1-for-4 with an RBI-single in the third inning and Tatiana Chiesa pitched four innings, allowing four walks while striking out two batter.