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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2017 THE JACKSON HERALD
WELCOMING PARTY
Members of the Jefferson softball team await the arrival of Cesyrea Cox at home plate after Cox hits a two-run home run against White County last Wednesday
night. Photo by Ben Munro
Softball
Dragons dominate White Co. to advance to Sweet 16
By Ben Munro
The first round of the state
tournament proved to be a
more relaxing experience
for Jefferson than the region
tournament.
After
pulling
out three
8-AAAA
tourna
ment wins
by a com
bined four
runs, the
top-seed
ed Drag
ons blew out visiting White
County 8-0 and 12-1 in the
opening round of state com
petition last Wednesday to
advance to the Class AAAA
Sweet 16.
“Yes, it feels good,” coach
Kacie Bostwick said. “So we
leave the region tournament
with one-run games and a
shootout — a high, tense
environment. And then we
came out here and we knew
that if we let White County
hang around that they could
potentially upset us. So we
were really focused on mak
ing sure that we did what we
were supposed to do at the
plate.”
The Dragons will move
on to face Northwest Whit
field today (Wednesday) in a
doubleheader starting at 5:15
p.m. in the second round.
Game 3 is Thursday at 5:15
p.m. if needed.
Jefferson (19-7) scored a
combined 20 runs in the two
games on Wednesday while
totaling 20 hits in its con
vincing round-one win over
White County, the No. 4 seed
from Region 7-AAAA.
“I’m super proud of the
way our kids made adjust
ments at the plate and hit the
ball hard,” Bostwick said.
The lopsided wins allowed
Bostwick to empty her bench
in both games.
“What was great about that
was we get to let our young
kids come in and have oppor
tunities and they produced for
us and that’s always fun and
always encouraging to know
our future is bright with these
young ones that can come
in in the playoffs and still be
productive.” Bostwick said.
Dawson Horn went 3-for-
3 with an RBI in Game 1,
while Giorgia Russell went
2-for-3 with an RBI. Savan
nah Dooley (l-for-2) drove in
two mns. Caroline Brownlee
went 2-for-2 and scored two
runs.
Sam Vinson went 3-for-4
with three doubles and four
RBIs in the night cap, while
Horn went 2-for-3 with three
RBIs and two runs scored.
Cesyrea Cox went l-for-3
and drilled a two-run homer
in the second inning.
In the circle, Emily Perrin
and Sam Vinson combined
for a mn-mled shortened
no-hitter in Game 1. Perrin
threw the first four innings,
striking out 11 with one walk.
Vinson threw the final inning,
striking out two and walking
two.
Perrin and Alisyn Fer
rell teamed up to throw a
two-hitter in Game 2. Perrin
threw the first three innings,
allowing no hits and no walks
while striking out six. Ferrell
threw the final two frames,
allowing two hits, a walk and
a run. She struck out one
batter.
“Emily Perrin came out
•What:
Northwest
Whitfield at
Jefferson
•When: Today
(Wed.),double-
header, 5:15
p.m.; Game 3,
Thurs., 5:15 p.m.
Softball
Panthers advance to Sweet
16 behind surging offense
•What: Lakeview-
Ft. Oglethorpe at
Jackson Co.
•When:
today (Wed.),
doubleheader, 5 p.m.;
Game 3 Thursday if
needed, time, TBA
By Ben Munro
The hot-hitting Jackson County Panthers have carried their
bats into the postseason.
Jackson County bombarded visiting Lumpkin County
with 32 mns and 24 hits last Wednesday in a doubleheader
sweep of the Indians in the first round of the Class AAA
tournament.
The top-seeded Panthers (24-7) won 15-6 in five innings in
Game 1 and 17-1 in five innings in Game 2 to set up a Sweet
16 matchup with Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe this week.
“They had a good time,” Jackson County coach Chad
Brannon said of his players. “Almost everybody got into
the game (Wednesday) night. It
was business as usual for us. They
didn’t celebrate like they did for the
region championship and that is to be
expected, of course.”
The two victories extended Jackson
County’s winning streak to 10 games.
The Panthers, who actually fell
behind 3-0 early in Game 1. finished
with 11 hits in the opener. Logan
Wright went 3-for-3 with two mns scored and two RBIs,
while Caroline Davis went 2-for-3 with a homer with two
mns scored and two RBIs. Brooke Simmons (l-for-3, dou
ble) drove home three mns.
“The team learned a valuable lesson (Wednesday) night, I
think,” Brannon said. “Most teams only have really one good
pitcher ... and once we ran Lumpkin County’s pitcher off,
our hitters really got hot. So that’s something we’re going to
draw on, of course.”
Brooke Kibbe started and threw five innings in Game 1,
allowing seven hits and six runs, though none were earned.
She walked one and struck out three in moving to 18-1 on
the year.
Jackson County then pounded out 13 hits in the nightcap in
winning by its largest margin of victory this season. Meghan
Sorrells led the offensive attack, going 3-for-3 with a double
and three RBIs and two mns scored. Kacie Holycross went
2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs and two mns scored.
The Panthers were aided by nine walks as they have
scored 12 or more mns in four of its last six games.
“Our strength is definitely our offense, obviously,” Bran
non said. “But it’s not one or two kids. Top to bottom, one
through nine, any of them can go 3-for-3 or 4-for-4 ... That’s
what makes our offense good.”
In the circle, starting pitcher Sara Beth Allen allowed three
hits and a mn over five innings with a walk and three strike
outs. She also went 2-for-4 at the plate with a triple and RBI.
Jackson County now turns its attention to a 22-win Lakev-
iew Ft. Oglethorpe team, which earned the No. 2 seed out of
the highly-competitive Region 6-AAA.
“Their region is very strong,” Brannon said. “It’s a lot like
our region where they’re going to have some teams go deep
into the playoffs. As far as three-A goes, it’s our region, their
WINNING AND HAVING FUN
Jackson County’s Sara Beth Allen (right) high-
fives coach Chad Brannon last Wednesday.
Photo by Ben Munro
region and a couple of others that are going to put multiple
teams deep.”
This Sweet 16 matchup will pair two top-10 teams as
the Panthers rank third in Class AAA while Lakeview Ft.
Oglethorpe checks in at No. 4. The winner will advance to
the Elite Eight in Columbus. Jackson County seeks its first
trip to the quarterfinals since 2012.
The teams will meet today (Wednesday) for a doublehead
er starting at 5 p.m. Game 3 is set for Thursday if needed,
though no starting time has been announced.
“We’re going to be ready;’ Brannon said. “We expect a
challenge. We expect a tough game.”
Jackson County is also happy to be hosting these games,
which will be the final ones played at Panther Field this
season.
“This time of year, it’s big,” Brannon said. “It’s really big.
We’ve got a lot of students coming out and a lot of folks
coming out. They’re comfortable there. It’s our place. We
play extra hard at home. It’s tougher for the opponent... Our
atmosphere has been really good.”
here and did exactly what she
was supposed to,” Bostwick
said. “Sam Vinson came in
and did what she was sup
posed to. Alisyn Ferrell is
getting some work in. I was
happy with the way all three
of our pitchers pitched.”
Bostwick added that her
pitchers, “could definitely cut
down on the walks a little
bit.”
“But they’re working
and I’m glad they’re getting
to work in these situations
where the pressure is on a
little bit.”
Bostwick said she doesn’t
know much about her team’s
next-round foe. Northwest
Whitfield, other than “they’re
a really good ball team.”
“So we will definitely be
prepared for some tough
games next week,” Bostwick
said.
Northwest Whitfield has
a 27-4 record but finished
as Region 6-AAAA’s No.
2 seed after being upset by
Heritage in the region title
game.
“I know they’ve got a good
record, but we’ve played
some tough teams, and I
don’t think our record really
tells how good of a team
we are” Bostwick said. “I
put our team in some tough
games on purpose, so I think
it will be a good matchup and
I’m looking forward to it.”
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