EC headed to Elite Eight again after sweep of Collins HIll

It will be on the road again for the East Coweta Lady Indians
as they will be headed to the Elite Eight in Columbus for the
11th time in 12 years.

SHARPSBURG-The Franklin Deloach Travel Agency will be making another reservation to Columbus as his East Coweta Lady Indians advanced to the GHSA Elite Eight after a sweep of the Collins Hill Lady Eagles Wednesday in their second round AAAAAAA state softball playoff series.

In game one, Kelley Lynch allowed three hits and recorded 11 strikeouts in a 6-1 win for the Lady Indians while going 3-for-4 at the plate in support of Rachel Vaughan in a 7-2 win in the nightcap.

The Lady Indians will take a 30-4 record into the first round of the Elite Eight while the Lady Eagles, winners of several state championships during the 2000’s finish the season with a 17-18 record.

The opponent for EC is scheduled to be the winner of the series between Kennesaw Mountain and South Forsyth who will play a deciding game on Thursday.
The opener saw a scoreless first inning but EC changed that in the bottom of the second inning as Vaughan opened the frame by getting hit by a pitch and advancing to second on a wild pitch and scoring on a single to right by Ashlynn Gunter.

The Lady Indians added to the lead in the bottom of the third inning as Carmen Prior walked and Lindsay “Lulu” Warren singled before Olivia Davis moved them into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt.

Lynch followed by aiding her own cause with a single that scored Prior and Warren to third who came home as Lynch got into a rundown between second and first.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Lady Indians added another run as Prior reached on a walk and advanced to second before coming home on a two out single by Vaughan that gave them a 4-0 lead.

For five innings, Lynch was on her game with a no-hitter with batters reaching on a couple of fielding miscues and a hit batter.

Collins Hill ended the no-no in the top of the sixth inning as Jessica Neadow reached on a leadoff double and came home with their only run on a one out single to left by Nicaiya Madison.

Lindsay "Lulu" Warren had a
two-run double in the first game.

The Lady Indians answered in the bottom of the sixth inning as Gunter was hit by a pitch and after moving to second on a groundout, Caroline Lively singled and Prior was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

Warren, playing in her last game in Sharpsburg, flirted with her first varsity home run as she lined a flyball to left center field that narrowly missed as the ball grazed off of the fence and became a two-run double.

Lynch would allow a pair of baserunners in the top of the seventh inning but they were sandwiched between a pair of strikeouts and a groundout that ended the contest.

In the nightcap, the Lady Indians were the visitors on the their home field but that didn’t appear to be a problem as Warren opened the game by reaching on an outfield error, stealing second and was able to advance to third on a single by Lynch before scoring on a groundout by Vaughan.

In the top of the third inning, the Lady Indians added to the lead as Davis reached on a one out single and stole second before scoring on a double by Lynch.

The Lady Eagles cut into the lead in the bottom of the inning with a run but the Lady Indians came back in the top of the fourth inning with three runs and a 5-1 lead.

Gunter reached on a leadoff double and after one out, moved to third as Lively singled and moved to second on the play.

Prior followed with a two-run double and would advance to third on a wild pitch before scoring on a sacrifice fly to left field by Davis.

The Lady Eagles came back in the bottom of the frame with a run but once again the Lady Indians answered as they added two more runs in the top of the fifth inning.

Lynch reached on a walk and Vaughan followed with a single but a popfly that turned into a double play threatened to keep the frame scoreless.

However, Gunter reached on a walk before a wild pitch allowed Lynch to score and a throwing error allowed the former to come home for the final run of the contest.

The scoring margin allowed Vaughan to pitch her normal game as she scattered 11 hits over her seven inning stint.

The Lady Eagles tried to rally in the bottom of the seventh inning with two runners on base and one out but Vaughan overcame the situation as a line drive to Davis at second base and a groundout to Ansley Duffey at first base ended the contest.