COLUMBUS. Ga. — Eastside’s historic 2024 run on the diamond culminated in a second place finish in Columbus as the Class AAAA runner-up.

The Lady Eagles split their opening games at the South Commons Softball Complex before ripping off three consecutive wins to play Harris County again — this time in the championship game.

Eastside rallies to get to title game

Following a 4-7 loss to Harris County on day two of in Columbus, the Lady Eagles had their backs against the wall. With another loss meaning certain elimination, Eastside went on a run.

The first time in its way was Wayne County, who the Lady Eagles played in the early hours of Friday.

Right from the start, the Lady Yellow Jackets took the momentum with a 5-0 lead that included two home runs.

The Lady Eagles battled back with individual runs in the first and third innings, but Eastside broke the game open in the fourth frame.

By the end of the frame, Eastside erased the deficit and took the lead with seven runs.

After a leadoff single from Alyssa Hartman, back-to-back home runs from Donee Morain and Allie Vaughn tied the game at 5-5. A two-run triple from Savanna Griffin and a two-run home run from Kylee Lawrence highlighted the rest of the inning as Eastside grabbed a 9-5 edge.

Each team went on to grab a pair of runs in the remaining innings but it was Eastside that came away with a 11-7 win.

Along with her home run, Lawrence earned the win on the mound as she pitched 5.1 innings and allowed only two earned runs.

Morain and Anslee Saunchegraw led the way offensively with three and four hits, respectively. The two also combined for five RBIs.

Later on Friday, Eastside was faced with a matchup with the Kell Lady Longhorns, the team that eliminated the Lady Eagles a year ago in Columbus.

By game’s end, Eastside returned the favor by ending Kell’s season with a tight 6-5 win in extra innings.

After letting Wayne County open their previous game with runs, the Lady Eagles did it themselves in their matchup with the Lady Longhorns.

A trio of singles led to Eastside grabbing a 2-0 lead over Kell. That lead turned to 3-0 after Eva Davis scored on a wild pitch.

However, Kell answered almost immediately when it stepped to the plate.

The Lady Longhorns trimmed the lead down to 3-2 by the end of the opening frame.

After three scoreless innings from both teams, they each traded runs in the fifth inning before the Lady Longhorns tied the game 4-4 in the sixth on a bases loaded walk. Kell could have done more damage in the inning with the bases loaded, but a heads-up play by Vaughn at first base led to an inning-ending double play to escape the jam.

With both teams facing elimination, they battled through the seventh, eighth and ninth innings scoreless.

In the 10th inning, Eastside rallied for the lead.

With a runner starting on second base, Kaela Lay scored the go-ahead run on a RBI single. Following a walk and a single to load the bases, a walk to Morain forced a second run in for Eastside.

When it came time for Kell to hit, it scored almost immediately on a leadoff double to score the runner on second base.

However, after a Kell runner was called out due to leaving the base too early, Lawrence got the other two outs via strikeout to end the game with an Eastside win.

Lawrence’s performance on the mound was key in the team’s win over Kell. Lawrence pitched seven innings of one-run ball and struck out 10 batters while only allowing three hits.

Vaughn’s four-hit game led the way for the Lady Eagles at the plate.

Eastside’s win over Kell secured its spot on the final day of Columbus. 

The first game on Sunday for the Lady Eagles was a matchup with the Northside Lady Patriots.

With a win meaning Eastside moves on to the championship game, the Lady Eagles got it done in a rout.

After splitting runs in the opening frame, the game never seemed to be in doubt after Eastside’s five-run second inning. 

RBI knocks from Vaughn, Saunchegraw and Griffin highlighted the 6-1 lead for the Lady Eagles.

Eastside went on to grab a pair of runs in both the third and fifth innings.

In the fifth and final frame, back-to-back RBI singles from Saunchegraw and Davis walked it off for Eastside as it came away with a big 10-1 win to clinch a top-two spot in Class AAAA.

Davis handled the pitching duties against Northside and went five full frames while only allowing one run and three hits.

The top of the order for the Lady Eagles showed out against the Lady Patriots. Each of the first four batters in lineup for Eastside came away with two hits in the win.

The win over the Lady Patriots secured Eastside a spot in the championship game against Harris County, the team that defeated the Lady Eagles on day two in Columbus.

With the Lady Tigers still undefeated in their Columbus run, Eastside would have needed to beat them twice.

Ultimately, Harris County slugged its way to a 8-0 win in five innings.

The Lady Tigers outscored Eastside in each of the first three innings as they mounted their 8-0 lead.

Eastside got a hit in almost each inning, but was unable to turn it into scoring opportunities as it was outhit 10-5 in the final game.

Davis and Lawrence both got time on the mound against Harris County, but R Huckaby’s performance on the mound for the Lady TIgers proved to be too much. Huckaby pitched five innings and did not allow any runs on five hits.

Reflecting on the season

Eastside finished the 2024 campaign as the Class AAAA runner up with a 27-4 record, the team’s best finish since in almost 15 years, according to MaxPreps.

Along with that, the LAdy Eagles also grabbed the Region 8-AAAA crown, marking the team’s second consecutive region championship to go with the team's fourth consecutive playoff berth.

The year started off hot for the Lady Eagles, who ripped off 18 wins to start the year before falling to region-foe East Forsyth — a team they went on to later sweep in the region championship.

A key group of veterans were the story for the Lady Eagles in 2024.

A core group consisting of Morain, Saunchegraw, Vaughn, Davis, Lawrence and Griffin paved the way — both on the mound and at the plate.

As the team looks ahead, Eastside softball will enter the offseason with the anticipation of only three seniors.

Seniors Saunchegraw, Lay and Emilie Jernigan will depart as players such as Morain, Davis, Lawrence, Griffin and Vuaghn are all set to return in 2025.