ATLANTA — Pierce County’s bus ride to fourth-seed South Atlanta took longer than Wednesday’s doubleheader with an “Elite 8” berth on the line.
The 13th-seed Lady Bears (238), winners of six straight and 13 of their last 15 games, overpowered the Lady Hornets shutting down an offense that came in batting an astonishing .513 and averaging 20.4 runs per game including 11 games of scoring 20-plus runs.
Third-ranked PCHS won Game 1 18-0 with Carley Sloan allowing just one hit over four innings. Taylor Tomlinson followed in the nightcap with a three-inning no-hitter in a 17-0 victory.
The Lady Bears face Region 1 foe Crisp County in Columbus today (Wednesday, October 29) at the South Commons Softball Complex in the four-day, double- elimination tournament with championship games set for Saturday, November 1.
Crisp County (13-13), the 21st seed upset fifth-seed homestanding Shaw (17-14) winning the “if” game 11-2. The Lady Cougars won Game 1 12-4 with Shaw bouncing back to force game the deciding game with a 16-6 decision.
Top-ranked Appling County (18-4) and second-ranked Cook (26-4) also advanced to Columbus. The Lady Pirates, who are the No. 1 seed, held off 17th-seed Jackson winning 7-6 and 6-2.
They now face ninth-seed regionmate Lady Hornets. Cook survived winning at eighth-seed Rockmart 10-7 and 4-3.
Also reaching Columbus were third-seed Morgan County (208), who faces 27th-seed Callaway (13-18). Seventh-seed Pike County (22-4) faces off with second- seed Sonoraville (29-5).
Game 1 No. 13 Lady Bears ..........18 No. 4 South Atlanta .........0
Olivia Bennett blasted two home runs and drove in three runs to back the pitching of Sloan, who fanned 10 of the 13 batters she faced.
South Atlanta’s lone hit came with two out in the bottom of the fourth inning to left with Bennett throwing home to LeeAnna Davis to nail the runner trying to score from second.
Bennett (2-for-2) set the tone for the Lady Bears depositing the second pitch of the game over the fence for a quick 1-0 lead.
PCHS added another run in the first frame. Tomlinson (3for-3) was hit by a one-out pitch, advanced to second on a passed and moved over to third on a groundout. Kaylee Figueroa’s ensuing grounder was booted allowing Tomlinson to score.
The Lady Bears pulled away from there with a four-run second for a 6-0 lead. A seven-run third extended the lead to 13-0. PCHS finished the game off with a five-run fourth.
Eva Horne (3-for-3) stroked a run-scoring double to get the scoring started in the second. Bennett’s one-out, two-run homer followed two batters later.
Back-to-back singles by Harper Larson (1-for-2) and Tomlinson, along with a walk to Parker Sinclair set up Figueroa’s sacrifice fly for a six-run advantage.
Horne lined a second runscoring double in the third inning igniting a seven-run uprising. Malee Childers (1-for-3) followed with a run-scoring single upping the margin to 8-0.
An error and a Bennett runscoring single increased the lead to 10-0. Sinclair lifted a sacrifice fly with the final two runs scoring on a passed ball and an error giving PCHS an insurmountable 13-0 advantage.
Bailey Barboza’s sacrifice fly in the fourth inning chased home the first of five runs with the final four scoring after two outs and one on base. A bases loaded error scored the next run with Shelby Braddy’s (1-for-1) two-run single advancing the lead to 17-0. An error on a ball hit by Sophia White scored the final run.
Game 2 No. 13 Lady Bears...........17 No. 4 South Atlanta .........0
PCHS scored all of its runs in the first two innings with Bennett hitting her third homer of the day.
Tomlinson fanned eight of the 10 batters she faced. South Atlanta’s lone base runner came courtesy of error to start the third.
The Lady Bears scored all the runs they would need during a five-run bottom of the first. Tomlinson (1-for-3) delivered a two-run single to start the scoring.
Sinclair’s (1-for-2) ensuing double gave Pierce County a 3-0 lead. A wild pitch and a passed ball scored runs for a 5-0 lead before the first out was recorded.
The Lady Bears sent 19 batters to the plate in the second inning scoring 12 runs. They had the bases loaded when the the third out was recorded.
PCHS’s first run came on an error. After a run-scoring passed ball, Horne (1-for-2) lined a tworun double for a 9-0 lead. Bennett followed one batter later with a three-run homer, her 10th of the year, helping build a 12-0 margin.
A double, error and groundout plated two runs for a 14-0 lead. Lanie Mai’s (2-for-3) tworun triple and Childers’ (1-for-1) run-scoring single finished off the scoring burst and a 17-0 advantage.
