SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. — The Social Circle Lady Redskins fell just short of a region title on Tuesday as Lamar County claimed the Region 4A-Division I crown as the No. 2 seed.
Social Circle, Lamar County, Jasper County and Putnam County took the field on Tuesday to compete in the Region 4A-Division I tournament.
After wins in their respective first round matchups, the Lady Trojans offense proved too much for the Lady Redskins in the championship game as Lamar County won 9-3.
However, the day started off in a different way for Social Circle
Lady Redskins rout Putnam County 15-0 in morning matchup
Social Circle and Putnam County took the diamond at 10 a.m. on Tuesday for the first game of the tournament.
The game was over by the end of the third inning as the Lady Redskins’ bats gave the Lady War Eagles almost zero margin for error.
After a scoreless opening frame from Putnam County, Social Circle got the scoring started.
Following a leadoff single from Kyla Head, Laura-Kate Tully scored her on an RBI single. Two batters later, the Lady Redskins increased their lead to 2-0 on a RBI groundout from Emily Turner.
Kennesaw State commit Savannah Frachiseur moved the lead to 3-0 on a sacrifice fly before the inning could end.
When it came time for Social Circle to bat in the second inning, the home team broke it open.
After a bases-loaded walk from Tully, Addyson Stracner drove in a pair of runs on a single.
Frachiseur and Annika Lott delivered with back-to-back RBI doubles to give Social Circle a 9-0 lead.
The Lady Redskins did not stop there, as RBI singles from Jada Hyman and Head moved the lead to 12-0 in favor of Social Circle.
In the third and final inning of the contest, Frachiseur was hit by the pitch with the bases loaded to give Social Circle another run. That at-bat was followed by an RBI single from Emmerson Davis.
On the final at-bat of the game, a ground ball from Adasyn Brown was mishandled for an error, which allowed the run No. 15 to come across home plate.
Social Circle’s 15-run advantage ended the game via run rule to send the Lady Redskins to the region title game.
Lexi Moore handled the pitching duties in game one and was lights out.
Moore allowed only one hit through three innings and struck out eight of the 10 batters she faced.
Persistent offense propels Lamar County to 9-3 region title over Social Circle
The Lady Trojans defeated the Lady Hurricanes of Jasper County to advance to the region championship against Social Circle.
With Turner on the mound for the Lady Redskins, Lamar County struck early.
After a walk and a double led off the game, Hailey Stanley brought both runners home on a RBI single in the opening inning.
Social Circle’s offense was unable to find success in the first two innings, but Turner responded well. In the two innings following the first, Turner got the side out in order both times.
This allowed for the Lady Redskins to capitalize offensively in the third inning.
After Tully and Head reached base, Turner eliminated the deficit herself on a two-run double to tie the game at 2-2. In the ensuing at-bat, Frachiseur singled to score Turner and take the lead.
The celebration was short lived, though, as Lamar County answered almost immediately.
Following a leadoff walk, Bailey Gunter tripled down the right field line to score the tying run at 3-3. Later in the inning, Addison Nail gave the Lady Trojans the lead on an RBI single.
In the fifth, Lamar County added a few insurance runs.
With two runners on, a run-scoring error followed by an RBI single extended the Lady Trojans lead to 6-3.
Another costly error from Social Circle resulted in two more runs coming home in the sixth inning. The error, combined with a RBI single from Gunter, gave Lamar County a 9-3 advantage going into the final inning.
Despite the Lady Trojans beginning the bottom of the seventh with a defensive error, they retired the next three batters to end the game with a 9-3 win and a Region 4A-Division I crown.
Turner pitched the first 4.1 innings for Social Circle and allowed five earned runs on seven hits. Moore pitched out of relief for 2.2 innings and allowed three unearned runs on three hits.
Following the game, head coach Chris Davis shared his thoughts on Moore’s and Turner’s days on the mound.
“We probably had some pitches we would want back, but youre going to have days where people hit the ball,” Davis said. “There have been many days throughout this year where the pitchers carried us. Those days, where they are getting hit, the defense and offense gotta help them out.
After a game in which the Lady Redskins were scoring at will, Lamar County held them to only three runs on six hits.
Looking Ahead
Davis spoke with The Covington News after the final game about how he wants the team to view today’s games going forward.
“You got to keep things in perspective,” Davis said. “Just use this as a learning experience. You have to be ready to play every game. It is tough to go through a season in the region and lose the final game, but you can either dwell on it or next time we are out here, get ready for playoffs.”
The loss moves Social Circle to 21-6 on the season with a second place finish in Region 4A-Division I. This year’s finish marks the third consecutive year that the Lady Redskins have finished in second place in region play.
As of now, the team turns its attention to Super Regionals, where they will once again host.The dates, times and opponent are to be determined, but Davis wants to see his team use Tuesday’s result to motivate them in the next stage of the season as they look to be a Columbus-bound team.
“Well, it’ll be a choice,” Davis said. “To know this is what it feels like to get beat. You got beat today, but there is tomorrow. We take that as a learning experience and know that no matter who’s on the other side, you come out ready to play and do your best.”
