It was a special day for the East Coweta Indians softball team as they successfully defended their title in the state’s highest classification, defeating Mill Creek 9-0 Saturday in the GHSA Class AAAAAAA championship game.
The GHSA State Fast Pitch Softball Tournament crowned eight champions in Columbus after three days of rainy weather. East Coweta earned the championship berth following a 9-0 romp of Lassiter in the first game of the day in the semifinals of the winner’s bracket. The Indians sent Mill Creek to the loser’s bracket in the second-round on Thursday with a 4-2 victory.
From there, Mill Creek worked its way through the loser’s bracket with victories over Hillgrove, North Gwinnett and Lassiter. East Coweta was flawless through the playoff bracket with victories over North Cobb (10-0, 16-0) and Cherokee (3-0, 9-3) to advance to the tournament bracket. Once in Columbus, the Indians allowed just three total runs while plating 24 to overpower the competition in Grayson, Mill Creek, Lassiter and then Mill Creek again. Last year’s title marked the first-ever for East Coweta and this year’s defense marks the beginning of a softball dynasty in Coweta County.
Class AAAAAA: Harrison won its first softball title since the 2000's championship when the Hoyas were in Class AAAAA , then the state's highest classification at the time. Harrison moved past Pope 6-3 to earn the championship. Harrison's flawless run through the tournament bracket featured victories over Heritage-Conyers (9-0), Greenbrier (9-4) and Allatoona (5-3) before the championship victory. Pope was vying for its first title since 2014 in Class AAAAAA.
Class AAAAA: Locust Grove defeated Loganville (8-2) to successfully defend its title after winning the school's first-ever championship last year. Locust Grove went flawlessly through the bracket with victories over Buford (2-1), Thomas County Central (11-2) and Bainbridge (6-1) before earning the championship berth. Loganville lost to South Effingham in the first round (3-2) before running through the loser's bracket with wins over Walnut Grove (6-1), Thomas County Central (6-3), Buford (10-9) and Bainbridge (5-4) before the title loss
Class AAAA: Heritage-Catoosa survived to three one-run victories and in the process denied Northside-Columbus its title defense as it took the championship in flawless fashion. The title was sealed with a 5-4 victory in the championship game. Heritage was the team to send Northside to the loser's bracket in the first round with a 7-6 victory. The Lady Generals then outclassed Madison County 10-4 in the next round. It survived a 3-2 showdown with Hampton in the winner's bracket semis to earn the berth in the championship game.
Class AAA: Franklin County scored eight runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to cruise to its first-ever state championship with a 9-5 victory over Jefferson in the title game. Franklin started its Saturday by beating Jefferson 10-9 in the winner's bracket to earn the championship berth. Jefferson had to then defeat Sonoraville 2-0 in the loser's bracket to earn the rematch with Franklin in the championship game. Franklin's run included victories over Appling County (12-0), Sonoraville (4-3) and the two victories over Jefferson to earn the title.
Class AA: Social Circle defeated Banks County twice on Saturday to earn the title. In the championship game, the Redskins won 9-1 which marked the first-ever softball title in school history. Banks County was also searching for its first title. Social Circle also went flawless through the tournament bracket with victories over Jeff Davis (12-5), Monticello (8-5), and Banks County (8-7) to earn the championship berth. Banks County, following the loss to Social Circle in the winner's bracket, beat Monticello in the loser's bracket (5-2) to earn the rematch against the Redskins in the championship.
Class A-Public: Gordon Lee's 8-0 victory over Bowdon in the championship game marked the ninth title in program history, fourth in a row and six of the last seven. Gordon Lee won titles in 2004, 2010-13 and 2015-18. The Trojans defeat Schley County in the first round 8-4 and Marion County in the second round 5-1. Its 2-0 victory over Trion situated Gordon Lee in the final series of the season again. Bowdon had its back against the wall after losing to Lanier County 1-0 in the first round and then earning the championship berth with victories over Telfair (8-3), Marion County (6-3), Lanier County (9-1) and Trion (5-0).
Class A-Private: Wesleyan's flawless run through the postseason allowed the Wolves the title defense after winning 7-0 over Prince Avenue in the championship game. The Wolves won their first-ever softball title in program history last season. Wesleyan had to play just two games Saturday, both against Prince Avenue, to earn the title. In the first game, in the winner's bracket finals, Wesleyan won 12-0 which sent Prince Avenue to the loser's bracket finals against First Presbyterian Day. Prince Avenue won 4-1 to earn the rematch against Wesleyan.
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