COLUMBUS, Ga. — Yesterday, the Elite Eight began down in Columbus at the South Commons Sports Complex as Eastside and Social Circle looked to begin the final stretch to what could possibly be a championship.
Ultimately, day one ended with the Lady Redskins falling to Gordon Lee 3-11 and with the Lady Eagles victorious over Central 6-4.
Eastside downs Central to begin Columbus run
Eastside picked up right where it left off when it began its first game in Columbus on Wednesday.
In a matchup with the Central Lions, Donee Morain made her presence known early.
Following a scoreless first frame, Morain batted leadoff for the Lady Eagles and sent the ball right over the fence. Morain’s home run to left field put Eastside ahead 1-0.
With the bases loaded shortly after, Kylee Lawrence added a run on a sacrifice fly.
Avery Jewell made it a 3-0 Eastside lead with a RBI single to end the frame.
Right away, Central answered.
The Lady Lions loaded the bases as well before cashing in on a RBI groundout. That was followed by a RBI single from Ruby Bryan to trim the Lady Eagles lead down to 3-2.
Central’s momentum carried over to the mound as well as the team held Eastside scoreless over the next two innings. This allowed for the Lady Lions’ bats to grab the lead.
A RBI single in the third frame and a RBI groundout in the fourth frame gave Central its first lead of the day at 4-3.
However, Morain answered the call in the following inning.
With two runners on base, Morain scored both on a RBI double into left field to give Eastside a 5-4 advantage.
Anslee Saunchegraw’s RBI single later in the frame moved the lead to 6-4 — the eventual final score.
Lawrence went on to pitch three scoreless innings against the Lady Lions to end the game and secure an Eastside win in game one. Lawrence pitched four innings and allowed only one hit, zero runs and struck out six batters.
Morain and Saunchegraw led the way offensively with two hits apiece.
With the win, Eastside is matched to play the Harris County Lady Tigers Thursday, Oct. 31 at 3 p.m.
Social Circle falls on day one to the Lady Trojans
The Lady Redskins grabbed an early lead on Wednesday, but eventually fell to Gordon Lee due to a late surge from the Lady Trojans.
By the end of the opening frame, Social Circle had a pair of runs without getting a single hit.
After three walks loaded the bases, a fourth walk — followed by a hit by pitch — pushed two runs across for Social Circle in the first inning.
It took three innings, but Gordon Lee got the runs back.
With the bases loaded, a wild pitch trimmed the lead down to one. In the same at-bat, Ella Grace Hixon tied the game on an infield RBI single.
The two teams traded runs over the next two innings to make it a 3-3 game heading into the bottom of the fifth.
By the time Social Circle got the third out, Gordon Lee produced five runs.
Following a leadoff walk and a single, Tenslee Wilson scored both runners on a two-run triple. After a sacrifice fly in the ensuing at-bat, the Lady Trojans held a 6-3 edge.
A RBI single and a bases-loaded walk increased Gordon Lee’s lead to 8-3 ahead of the sixth and final frame.
After a scoreless inning from Social Circle, the Lady Trojans added on three more runs in the bottom of the sixth to end the game via run rule.
Ultimately, it was a RBI knock from Hynleigh Harding that scored the final run to make it a 11-3 win for Gordon Lee.
On Wednesday, the game came down to the pitching.
Gordon Lee’s Abby Logan earned the win as she pitched 5.1 innings and only allowed one hit, one earned run and struck out a pair of Lady Redskins.
Emily Turner and Lexi Moore handled the pitching duties for Social Circle on Wednesday.
With the loss, Social Circle falls to the bottom half of the bracket as it faces an uphill climb to get to the championship.
The Lady Redskins will take on East Laurens Thursday, Oct. 31 at 5 p.m.
