Savage has striking performances in sweep over Cherokee, EC returns to Columbus

Jada Savage tossed two complete games 
Tuesday night in a sweep over Cherokee.
She recorded 29 strikeouts and hit a 
home run in game one.
FILE PHOTO

SHARPSBURG-Jada Savage gave the crowd strong performances Monday night in her final home games for the East Coweta Lady Indians in their second round 6A matchup against the Cherokee Lady Warriors.

In game one, Savage recorded 17 strikeouts in a three hit effort in the circle and hit a home run to give EC a 3-0 win while she claimed 12 strikeout victims in a 2-0 win to gain a sweep.

With the sweep, East Coweta will take a 28-3 record to the Elite Eight where they will face either Dacula or Archer who will play their deciding game this evening.

The trip to Columbus will be the 20th time in 21 years.

Savage was in control early in the opener as she retired the first six batters via strikeout and two of the five batters she face in the top of the fourth inning.

The fourth was the only frame where the Lady Warriors had an opportunity to get on the board as two batters reached base.

The game would be scoreless through the first three and one-half innings as Savage and Cherokee pitcher Laila Davis kept batters at bay.

The scoreless tie was broken in the bottom of the fourth when Savage drilled a pitch from Davis over the left center field fence for a solo home run.

Gaby Gopie doubled in the fourth inning
and scored in game one. She had an RBI single
 in the second game.
FILE PHOTO 

The Lady Indians added a run in the frame as Gaby Gopie reached on a one out double and scored from third when Avery Batten grounded out to first.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Lady Indians (or the Paytons) added to their lead as Wilson reached on a walk and scored on a double by Roberson.

Meanwhile, Savage finished her start by retiring the final nine with seven by strikeout.

In the nightcap, the Lady Indians took the lead early as the Paytons (Wilson and Roberson) reached on consecutive singles and with two outs Gopie lined a single to center field to bring Wilson home.

The contest remained 1-0 until the top of the seventh inning when EC scored an insurance run as Kate Miller reached on a bunt single, stole second and scored on a single to center field by Wilson.

Miller was 2-for-3 at the plate while Wilson was 2-for-4.

That was more than enough for Savage who retired the final 15 batters she faced and recorded 12 strikeouts in the game.

After the game, the eight seniors took a trip around the infield which has been a tradition for the program

Joiner shows off power as East Coweta sweeps West Forsyth in playoff series

Jada Savage pitched hitless inning and had eight strikeouts
in game on.
Photo by Stuart Crosby

SHARPSBURG-Addie Joiner showed off her power Monday with three home runs and six RBIs as the East Coweta Lady Indians swept the West Forsyth Lady Wolverines in a first round 6A playoff series.

In game one, Joiner hit two home runs while Payton Roberson and Gabi Gopie hit home runs in a 12-1 five inning contest while Joiner and Jada Savage had home runs in a 7-0 win in the nightcap.

The Lady Indians improve to 26-3 on the season and will host Cherokee in a second round series next week.

Cherokee defeated Paulding County 9-3 in a deciding game Tuesday evening.

Savage and Lady Wolverines starter Elizabeth Bare breezed through the first two innings of the opener but the situation changed in the bottom of the third inning.

Payton Wilson reached on a two out single and scored the first run of the game as Roberson hit a line drive double to the left field fence.

After Savage reached on a walk, Joiner hit her first home run of the night as she hit a flyball over the left field fence for a three-run home run and the lead was 4-0.

In the top of the fourth inning, the Lady Wolverines got on the scoreboard after a couple of hit batters but were unable to solve Savage.

The Lady Indians reclaimed the four-run lead in the bottom of the fourth and more when 12 batters came to the plate with eight coming home.

Izzy Kelleher led off with a single, Avery Batten reached on a walk and both scored as Addy Howell followed with a line drive single to center field.

Kate Miller reached on an infield error and after an RBI ground out, Roberson drilled a pitch to left center field for a home run and the lead was 9-0.

Savage walked again and Joiner struck again with a shot over the left center field before Gopie drilled a pitch to left field for her home run.

After four hitless innings which included eight strikeouts, Savage was lifted in favor of McKenna Holmes who recorded a pair of strikeouts and surrendered the only hit of the game by the Lady Wolverines.

In the second game, Savage and Bare were recording scoreless frames in the first three innings until the top of the fourth inning when Joiner struck for her third home run of the night with a flyball over the fence in left center field.

The Lady Indians added to the lead in the top of the fifth inning as back-to-back doubles by Wilson and Roberson accounted for a pair of runs that increased the advantage to 3-0.

East Coweta put the game away in the top of the seventh inning as Wilson had an RBI single and Savage had a three-run home run.

Savage finished the three hit, 12 strikeout performance by retiring the Lady Wolverines in order in the bottom of the frame.

NOTES:  Joiner was 3-for-6 in the two games with six RBIs while Roberson was also 3-for-6 with four RBIs and three runs scored.

Wilson scored three runs in the two games.  

Lady Indians defeat Lady Trojans for another region title

East Coweta's Jada Savage and Gabi Gopie
pose after the Lady Indians defeated the 
Carrollton Lady Trojans 2-0 in the Region
2-6A Tournament final.
Photo by Stuart Crosby

SHARPSBURG-The East Coweta Lady Indians took a page from a song by Britney Spears called "I Did It Again" as Wednesday night as they defeated the Carrollton Lady Trojans 2-0 in the final game of the Region 2-6A Tournament.

The tournament win marked the 16th consecutive year the Lady Indians have won the championship and the 20th in program history.

The win also improved the Lady Indians record to 24-3 as they prepare to defend their state championship as EC will host West Forsyth in the first round of the 6A state playoff Monday.

First pitch on Monday will be 4:00 with a second game to follow and a possible "if necessary" game on Tuesday at 5:30. 

West Forsyth is the fourth seed from Region 6.

After Savage retired the side in order in the top of the first, the Lady Indians scored the first run of the evening as Peyton Roberson reached on a one out triple to right field and scored on a groundout by Savage.

The single run was enough for Savage as she held the Lady Trojans hitless through the first five innings allowing three walks.

She also benefitted from defensive gems in the field from a number of people including the infield of Roberson, Payton Wilson, Gabi Gopie and Izzy Kelleher who combined for five assists and 13 putouts.

The Lady Trojans finally secured a hit when Carly Jane Jordan reached on a single to left.

Jordan advanced to third but was left stranded as line drive were caught by Wilson and Gopie.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Lady Indians scored a necessary insurance run when Savage reached on an error and eventually scored when Gopie lined a single to right center field.

The Lady Trojans were held scoreless in the top of the seventh inning with the seventh strikeout by Savage ended the contest.

NOTES: 66 runs were scored in the six games played during the tournament.

Roberson was 5-for-8 with four runs scored and an RBI for the Lady Indians while Wilson reached base on seven occasions.

Savage recorded her 800th career strikeout Tuesday evening and now has 812 after Wednesday's game. 

 

Five run fifth keys EC win over Carrollton

SHARPSBURG-The East Coweta Lady Indians broke open a scoreless tie with a five run fifth inning to defeat the Carrollton Lady Trojans 6-0 Tuesday night in the winners bracket game of the Region 2-6A softball tournament.

The Lady Indians improve to 23-3 on the season after the win over the Lady Trojans and a 12-0 four inning victory over the Westlake Lady Lions earlier in the day.

The Lady Indians will face the Lady Trojans or the Chapel Hill Lady Panthers in the championship game Wednesday at 6:00 with an “if necessary’ game to be played at 8:00 should EC lose the final.

The inning began a walk to Payton Wilson and Payton Roberson followed with a single.

After a force play, Addie Joiner singled that loaded the bases when Gaby Gopie came to the plate and lined a single into right field to score Roberson with the first run of the game.

After an infield fly, Avery Batten walked to allow Kaelyn Bowen to score and three more runs followed after back-to-back infield errors.

An extra run of insurance came in the bottom of the sixth inning as Roberson reached on a double and was awarded third base after the defensive interference then scored when Jada Savage grounded out.

Savage retired the side in order in the top of the seventh inning including two by strikeout.

The senior hurler allowing three hits in the game and finished with nine strikeouts which added to her program high of 805 strikeouts. 

In the win over Westlake, Kate Miller led off the game by reaching on a walk, stole second and moved to third on a throwing error before scoring on a sacrifice fly Payton Wilson.

Back-to-back doubles by Payton Roberson and Addie Joiner accounted for the second EC run and Izzy Kelleher’s two out single accounted for the final run of the frame.

The Lady Indians added to the lead in the bottom of the second with five runs to take an 8-0 advantage.

Addy Howell singled and Kaelyn Bowen walked before Miller hit a groundball to first that was mishandled allowing a run to score and Wilson followed with a two-run double to give the home team a 6-0 cushion.

Roberson singled and Joiner hit a double for the final pair of runs in the inning.

An infield error along with Rbis by Miller and Wilson gave the Lady Indians an 11-0 lead after three inning before Catherine Maxwell scored on a one out single by Catherine Maxwell in the bottom of the fourth inning to end the game.

Holmes recorded four strikeouts in her two innings in the circle while Camryn Horton tossed a pair of quality innings.

Wheeler hitting, Waddell pitching leads ECJV to victory

 

Bella Waddell pitched three innings
Tuesday night recording four strikeouts.
Photo by Stuart Crosby

FRANKLIN-Abby Wheeler went 4-for-4 with five RBIs Tuesday to lead the East Coweta Lady Indians junior varsity to a 13- 0 win over the Heard County Lady Braves.

The Lady Indians took the lead in the top of the first inning as winning pitcher Bella Waddell was hit by a pitch and came home on a double by Wheeler.

Bases loaded walks to Kaelyn Bowen and Kinli Blair gave the Lady Indians a 3-0 but the were not done scoring in the opening inning as Catherine Maxwell followed with a two-run single and Wheeler added a two-run double in her second at bat of the frame.

Meanwhile, Waddell gave the Lady Indians a solid outing in the circle as four strikeouts in her three-inning stint while allowing only two hits.

The Lady Indians added to their lead in the top of the third inning as Maxwell reached on a leadoff walk and eventually scored on a force play.

Ella Kate Deloach started a four-run fourth when she was hit by a pitch and after reaching third on a double by Bowen was able to score on a single by Blair.

Bowen, who moved to third on the play, came home when Hope Stubbs grounded out and after Callie Mucha reached on a walk and Waddell was hit by a pitch, Wheeler capped off her afternoon with a two-run single.  

Stubbs took over in the circle for Waddell and allowed a walk before retiring the next three batters to end the game

The junior varsity season will end Thursday at Northgate in a game with the Lady Vikings.

Read about the varsity win here.

Gopie, Kelleher help key Lady Indians domination of Lady Braves

McKenna Holmes gave the East Coweta Lady
Indians three solid innings in Tuesday's win.
Photo by Stuart Crosby

FRANKLIN-Gabi Gopie and Izzy Kelleher combined for five hits, three runs and five RBIs Tuesday night to help lead the East Coweta Lady Indians to a 16-3 win over the Heard County Lady Braves in a non-region contest.
The Lady Indians improve to 20-3 on the season with a game at Northgate on Thursday while the Lady Braves fell to 11-9.

The EC scoring barrage began as Payton Wilson singled on the first pitch of the game and after Payton Roberson reached pn a walk, Jada Savage lined a single to center field for the first run.

After one out, Gopie reached on a walk and Kelleher followed with a single to score Roberson.

Avery Batten reached on a bases loaded walk that scored Savage and a single by Addy Howell gave the Lady Indians a 4-0 lead.

A walk to Kate Miller scored Kelleher while Wilson had a two-run double in her second at bat of the frame and the lead was 7-0.

The inning continued as Roberson had an RBI single and Joiner had a two-run double before Gopie ended the barrage with a two-run home run over the wall in left center field.

The Lady Braves got onto the scoreboard in the bottom of the inning with a two-run home run but they did not get any closer.

In the top of the third inning, the Lady Indians got one of the runs back as Callie Flury scored from third base when Kelleher hit a sacrifice fly to center field.

The final runs came in the top of the fourth inning courtesy of an infield error and a double by Gopie.

After three innings in which she allowed two only two hits, winning pitcher McKenna Holmes was replaced by Camryn Horton who allowed an unearned run to finish the game that ended on the mercy rule.

Besides the strong batting efforts of Gopie and Kelleher, Wilson contributed two hits while scoring twice an delivering two rbis while Roberson was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

The JV win is here.