By Carten Cordell
Marietta Daily Journal Sports Writer
COLUMBUS - There was high drama Saturday as Lassiter held on to win its first Class AAAAA fast-pitch softball state title, having to fend off Peachtree Ridge in two games to do it.
Down 7-0 to the Lady Lions in the first game, the Lady Trojans rallied to tie the game, but fell 11-7 thanks to a four-run seventh inning.
Jessica Cannon recovered to pitch a one-hit game in Game 2 and Caitlin Peisel tagged up on a Brandi Donaldson sacrifice fly to win the title, 2-1, in eight innings.
"It's awesome - we won," Lassiter coach Scott Kelly said. "Our pitcher was awesome, we got a couple key hits when we needed some hits, Peisel scored on a ball that was barely out of the dirt - we just kept fighting. Shoot, we haven't done anything easy all year, so why start now."
The win was especially sweet for Cannon, who battled through tidal waves of Peachtree Ridge offense to hold the Lions to one run on one hit in the deciding game.
"That first game, there were first-game jitters," Cannon said. "The second game, I came back, I knew what to expect and we already faced them once. We came back a lot stronger, with more intensity and more energy the whole game. We worked hard all year. This was our goal, this is where we wanted to be and hard work paid off. We got it."
Peachtree Ridge came out fast in the first game. Gabby Bedard had a bunt single and Emily Osterhaus walked to open with runners on first and second. After stealing two bases, Bedard scored when Osterhaus was caught in a rundown between first and second to make it 1-0.
With Osterhaus safe at second, the Lions then loaded the bases with a Michelle Wagner single and Kensi Weir being hit by a pitch. Chelsea Parrish then got plunked to score Osterhaus for a 2-0 lead after the first inning.
Peachtree Ridge was at it again in the second, as Sade Johnson doubled to center, moved to third on a Bedard bunt single and scored on a wild pitch. Bedard then tagged up off a Callie Fernandez fly ball to make it 4-0. Two more runs came in the third when Krysten Connelly hit a home run to left to bring home Parrish. The Lady Lions moved to 7-0 in the fourth when Weir's sacrifice bunt scored Allison Leigh.
Lassiter began a slow comeback in the fourth when Jessica Sinclair and courtesy runner Jana Bryant - in after a Brandi Donaldson single - scored on singles from Danielle Weinstein and Annie Soltis to make it 7-2. Kelli Wheeler blasted a two-run homer to deep left to bring in Hillary Lynch at 7-4.
The Lady Trojans tied it up in the bottom of the sixth with Lynch's single scoring Nicole Wischmeyer and Sinclair being hit by a pitch to score Peisel with the bases loaded.
It was all for not though, as Peachtree Ridge put up four runs in the top of the seventh off of singles from Connelly, Bedard and Osterhaus, accompanied by a throwing error, top make it a 11-7.
"Really the seniors the season wouldn't let this team lose," Wheeler said. "Especially when we went down in the first game. Everyone was down, but we all decided we were going to win no matter what it took."
Despite a defensive battle, the Lady Lions got back on the board in the bottom of the second in Saturday's second game with a wild pitch and a dropped ball by Cannon at the plate scoring Leigh.
Lassiter held on and tied it in the sixth with Donaldson scoring Wheeler with a single. Neither team could make a dent in the seventh, sending it to extra innings.
In the top of the eighth, Peisel came on as the tiebreaking runner and stole third. Peachtree Ridge then walked Wheeler and Sinclair to get to Donaldson. The catcher then popped out, allowing Peisel to tag from third. With the throw coming to the plate from center, Peisel pulled a hook slide to put in the winning run.
"These girls wanted it," Kelly said, "and they fought for it."
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Posted Comments
Congratulations Girls for winning State. We are very proud of you.
Somebody needs to look at Brandi Donaldson (Junior at Lassiter High School)cause she has amazing talents out there on the field. She is being disregarded and she is not happy about that. She is also a superior student and an educated athlete that knows the game of softball.