Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2016
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
PAGE 3B
High School Softball: Apalachee
Wildcats’ season comes
to end against Dalton
WILDCATS FALL
Top: Apalachee third baseman tosses the ball back to pitcher Savannah Butler in the second game of
the first-round GHSA Class AAAAAA playoff series against Dalton. Below: Shortstop Holly Janco gets
set for a pitch. (Photos by Jessica Brown)
AHS unable to solve Catamounts pitcher in sweep
Scott Thompson
Sports Editor
Less than a week after
losing its region champi
onship game to Dacula in
heart-breaking fashion, the
Apalachee High School
softball team found itself
in another pair of nail-bit-
ers Oct. 12 against Dalton
in the first round of the
GHSA Class AAAAAA
playoffs.
Unfortunately for the
Wildcats, they came up on
the short end of the stick
again as the visiting Cata
mounts blanked them 2-0
in the series opener and
rallied for a 2-1 victory in
the nightcap to complete
the sweep.
Dalton (21-10), the
No. 3 seed out of Region
6, advanced to the sec
ond round and will face
Richmond Hill in a best-
of-three series beginning
today.
Me an while, Apalachee
(15-13), the No. 2 team
from Region 8, saw its
season come to a close.
“Those were two real
ly tough losses,’’ Wildcat
coach Matt Allen said.
“We felt like those were
games we had a chance to
win, but the credit really
goes to Dalton and the job
they did as much as any
thing else.
“I’m very proud of our
girls for their resiliency
and competitive spirit
they’ve shown throughout
the year.’’
A chaotic bottom of the
sixth inning in the sec
ond game turned out to be
Apalachee’s undoing.
The Wildcats, who
were the away team for
the game, had just taken a
1-0 lead in the top of the
inning on an RBI single by
freshman S’Nyiah Stinson
that scored Alexis Mobley.
But the bottom of the
frame started off ominous
ly as both teams’ coach
es and the umpires had a
lengthy discussion about
a Wildcat substitution.
Dalton first baseman Keen
Johnson led off with a
four-pitch walk, and Hai
ley Jones reached on a
bunt single.
Another infield hit later
in the inning by Lauren
Parker tied the game and
moved Jones to third. On
the next pitch, Parker took
off for second base and
drew a throw from Wild
cat catcher Madyson Coe,
o
which was cut off and
relayed back home. The
throw appeared to beat
Jones to the plate, but she
was ruled safe under Coe’s
tag to give the Catamounts
a 2-1 lead.
“We thought we’d got
ten the tag down, but that
turned out not to be the
case,’’ Allen said of the
play, which prompted
arguments from both the
coach and Wildcat fans. “It
was a tough break.’’
Apalachee attempted to
mount a two-out rally in
the seventh when senior
shortstop Holly Janco
legged out an infield hit
and promptly stole second
to get into scoring posi
tion.
But Dalton pitcher Alli
son Swinford bounced
back to strike out Briana
Bryson and preserve the
victory.
Swinford, who pitched
both games for the Cat
amounts, proved to be a
nearly unsolvable puz
zle for the Wildcats, who
managed to scrape across
just one run off the senior.
In 14 innings of work,
Swinford surrendered just
nine hits and finished with
17 strikeouts while walk
ing four and hitting one
batter.
She found herself in
only one real jam in the
first game, giving up a pair
of base runners to start
the bottom of the second
before striking out the side
to end the Wildcat threat.
The Catamounts took
the lead in the top of the
third on an RBI single by
Johnson and never looked
back.
“She did a very good
job. She was hands down
the best pitcher we’ve seen
this season,’’ Allen said of
Swinford.
“I thought we had some
better swings there in the
second game, but she did
a great job of moving the
ball around the plate and
we just weren’t able to get
the hits when we needed
them.’’
Swinford’s sterling
effort overshadowed a
solid performance by
Apalachee’s three pitch
ers, including Stinson,who
went the distance in the
first game, allowing two
runs on nine hits while
walking four and striking
out seven.
Juniors Savannah But
ler Kayla Brown com
bined to pitch the second
game, with Brown taking
the loss.
“I’m so proud of our
pitchers and the way
they battled,’’ Allen said.
“They’re all underclass
men and none of them
had ever pitched in the
playoffs before, and that’s
very much how our team
was with only having three
seniors.
“We had a great year
and came together when
we needed to.’’
High School Softball: WBHS
swept in 1st
round by
Harrison
WBHS finishes 13-17
A heartbreaking loss
in game one gave way
to a one-sided defeat in
game two, as the Wind
er-Barrow High School
softball team was swept
last week by Harrison
in the first round of the
GHSA Class AAAAAA
playoffs, 3-2 and 10-1.
The Hoyas (21-10),
the No. 2 seed out of
Region 6-AAAAAA,
advanced to the sec
ond round and will host
Glynn Academy in a
series that begins today.
Meanwhile, the Bull-
doggs (13-17), the No.
3 seed out of Region 8,
who were making their
fourth straight trip to the
playoffs, saw their sea
son come to an earlier
end than coach Monty
McClure had hoped for.
“The season went OK,
but it was average over
all by certain standards
and we would have liked
for it to go a little better,’’
McClure said.
“There’s always a lot
of pride in making it to
the state playoffs, and
we’re losing a group of
seven seniors who have
been very good for us.
“We’ve still got some
good players coming
back and coming up
from the middle school
level.
“Those players are
going to have to step up
and fill the holes we now
have.’’
Winder-Barrow fell
down 2-0 in the third
inning in the series open
er against the Hoyas, but
Krystal Merrill provided
the Bulldoggs with some
heroics in the top of the
seventh, launching a
two-run homer to tie
it up.
Harrison, though,
staged its own rally in
the bottom half of the
frame. The first two
"There's always a lot
of pride in making it
to the state playoffs,
and we're losing
a group of seven
seniors who have
been very good
for us. We've still
got some players
coming back..."
- Monty McClure,
Winder-Barrow
softball coach
batters drew walks and
advanced on a sacrifice
bunt.
A sac fly to the out
field then lifted the
Hoyas to the victory.
The second game was
never really in doubt, as
Harrison scored early
and often, belting four
home runs.
Jakayla Sullivan pro
vided the lone offense
for the Bulldoggs, hit
ting a solo shot in the
fifth.
“I thought we stayed
around in the first game
by making some very
good plays at criti
cal times and escaping
some jams, but we just
couldn’t get it done the
second game,’’ McClure
said.
Overall, Region 6
combined to go 8-0 in
a clean sweep of its
Region 8 counterparts in
the first round.
“It’s a very talented
region,’’ McClure said.
“I wouldn’t be sur
prised if they sent two or
more teams to Columbus
(for the Elite Eight).’’
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