Lady Cougars Advance to Quarterfinals

The Piedmont Academy softball opened the state tournament with a sweep of Robert Toombs Monday in games played at home.

The Lady Cougars recorded 5-2 and 11-0 wins to advance to the Class AA quarterfinals. Piedmont will travel to Briarwood today, Oct. 11, for a best-of-three series in Warrenton.

The Lady Buccaneers will host the series since they are a No. 1 seed with the Lady Cougars a No. 2 seed.

In Monday’s games, Carla Martin had a dominating pitching performance as she worked both games. Robert Toomb’s lone runs came in the top of the first inning in the opener.

“Carla pitched awesome,” said coach Danny Camp. “She got stronger as the day went on. We also played strong defensively.”

If Piedmont defeats Briarwood today, the Final Four would be Saturday in Dublin with the championship series the following weekend. The players and coaches are set to leave at 7:30 a.m. Thursday for the trip to Briarwood and the quarterfinal series. Games will be at noon, 2 and 4.

“We’ll have to be ready to play,” Camp said. “Briarwood is a tough team and we’ll have to play our best. I think our girls know what it takes to win at this level. It should be a fun series.”

The Lady Cougars are now 20-4 overall. Of their four losses, one was by a run and another by two runs.