COLLEGE PARK, Ga — For the second straight season, the Alcovy Lady Tigers were crowned the champions of Region 3-AAAAAA. They took down the Woodward Academy Lady War Eagles 14-7 on the road with late-inning heroics Tuesday night.
Woodward Academy took the lead on a go-ahead, three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth, but the Lady Tigers bats broke out in the final two innings.
Makinzie Johnson started things off with a leadoff double in the top of the sixth inning. Ashlyn Hoy and Kaitlyn Williams each connected for an RBI single to give Alcovy a 8-6 lead.
In the bottom half of the same inning, Johnson had a heads up double play to bring the Lady Tigers back around to bat. The bats stayed hot, too.
After Alcovy loaded the bases with no outs, Jamaya Anderson and Kaitlyn Williams knocked in back-to-back, two-run singles. Later in the frame, Johnson and Kaylie McDonald delivered two straight RBI doubles to give the Lady Tigers a commanding 14-6 advantage.
Alcovy surrendered a run on a groundout in the final inning, but pitcher CeCe Williams struck out two Lady War Eagles to clinch the region title.
Head coach Miranda Lamb was pleased with how the team responded after giving up the go-ahead homer run in the sixth inning.
“It says a lot about them keeping the focus and staying mentally tough through all seven innings,” Lamb said. “I hate to say it but we don’t get to play a lot of seven inning ball games. Them keeping the focus, not just through three or four, but all innings. I am super proud of them for staying connected throughout the game.”
Before the explosion of runs in the final innings, Alcovy and Woodward Academy went back and forth early in the contest.
The Lady Tigers scored first on an RBI groundout from CeCe Williams in the first. The Lady War Eagles, then, took the lead in the second inning. But, once again, Hoy tied the game on an RBI double into the right-center gap.
In the fifth, a double from CeCe Williams and a groundout from Johnson scored two more for Alcovy.
Olivia Tomberlin earned the win on the mound for Alcovy, pitching five innings and allowing five earned runs on six hits. CeCe Williams closed out the final two innings, only allowing one run while striking out three.
After the game, Lamb spoke to the effort the team put forth in order to clinch the region.
“It feels good. We wanted it and I think we wanted it more than they did and it showed off,” Lamb said. “They played us really well through four innings, and the bats finally got to work and once that happened, it didn’t stop.”
With the win, the Lady Tigers moved to 15-10 on the year with a perfect 12-0 record in region play. Alcovy will be back on the diamond for senior night as they take on the Rockdale County Lady Bulldogs on Wednesday, Sept. 27.
