Lady Canes Are State Runners-Up

After a topsy turvy weeekend of action complete with late night and early morning softball games, the Lady Hurricanes earned the Georgia High School Associations’ AA State Runner-Up title after two defeats by the champions Rockmart in Columbus.

“Even though this didn’t end the way we would’ve liked, I’m still extremely proud of how we competed from the time the state tournament started two weeks ago,” noted veteran softball coach Chris Jenkins.

“The Elite 8 in Columbus was an unbelievable experience for everyone, players, coaches and fans. For our girls not to be overwhelmed, with the amount of people in attendance (many of those being coaches from SEC, ACC schools, etc.) shows the focus they had.”

“It was a great run, the best part is it left our team ready to work towards getting back next season. The girls and coaches want to thank all those who supported us in this trip, and all of our fans that made the two-hour trip each day to see us play,” said the coach.

“With 28 wins and a State Runner-Up title against the competition we saw this year —these are outstanding accomplishments, and something we can all be proud of.”

En route to the championship game last Saturday, the Lady Canes took out some stiff competition beginning with a 12-1 win over Bleckley County. In that game Mackenzie Abbott, Mia Jenkins, and O’Neil Sealy had singles, Lacey Rutledge doubled, and Madison Abbott hit a three-run homer in the first inning to post a 6-0 lead.

Coach Jenkins said the team never looked back after that.

“Jumping out to an early lead in these games is critical, especially the first one. Nerves can come into play with the amount of fans and college coaches in attendance, and getting on the board first allows you to relax a little,” he said.

It is important to note that junior Jenkins left this game with a broken leg and trip to the hospital.

Next up was Harlem, last year’s champions who put the Lady Canes out of the 2016 state playoffs. The Lady Canes shut them out 11-0.

“These were the defending state champs and one of the favorites to win it again this year. This was a pitcher’s duel for the first three innings, then Madison Abbott hit a two-run double off the CF fence. This hit got our bats going and seemed to rattle their pitcher a little bit. We added six more runs in the fourth to put the game out of reach, especially with the way O’Neil was throwing,” noted Coach Jenkins.

The Lady Canes played their first game against Rockmart late Friday evening losing 1-0. The coach did not have much to say about that competition other than that the pitching and defense were outstanding but that they just could get anything going offensively.

“We hit the ball hard all game. The hits just happened to be at players making the play and hats off to them for doing so,” noted the coach.

Friday’s loss was rebounded with a 2-0 win over 8AA region mate and #1 seed Banks County.

“This was an elimination game against a team who we were 0-2 against this season, so our backs were against the wall. That combined with the first pitch coming at 11:30 p.m could’ve been a bad combination. However, from the first pitch of the game there was a feeling in our dugout that the girls believed in each other and that they wouldn’t be denied a shot at the state championship,” Coach Jenkins said.

Mackenzie Tripp walked and went first to third on a bunt by Jessi Caron. That was followed by the Lady Canes first run on a wild pitch. Mackenzie Abbott singled home Rutledge an inning later for a 2-0 lead. Mackenzie Abbott also saved a couple of runs on defense by going over the right center fence to rob Banks of a home run in the sixth.

In the state title game against Rockmart the local ladies fell 9-7. Rockmart led 7-1 after three innings. That would have caused some teams to pack it in, according to the coach, but his girls battled back to tie the game at seven in the fifth inning.

“Freshman Bailey Jenkins did an outstanding job of keeping us in the game, after relieving O’Neil,” coach said. “We brought the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh with one out and hit a line drive, again right at one of their players, which turned into a double play.” And the end of the state run for the Lady Canes.