By HARVEY SIMPSON

Dispatch Sports Editor

BAINBRIDGE — Officially, the District 3 12-and-under girls softball champions are referred to only as Crisp County.

Based upon the closeness of four of their five games in the three-day tournament that concluded early Thursday morning, the winners well deserve an additional tag of “Cardiac Kids.”

En route to the crown that earns it a trip to Georgia Recreation and Parks Association state tournament play July 9-11 in Waycross, the Crisp team posted three one-run wins and suffered its only loss by two runs.

“We definitely won some cliffhangers,” head coach John Thompson said in reference to a 14-13 victory over Grady County and the pair of 8-7 wins over Lee County that they sandwiched around a 6-4 loss to that foe.

The only game in which Thompson and his team didn’t have to sweat out a victory came on Tuesday against Bainbridge. They were leading it 11-5 when play was halted one out away from the finish. When the contest was finished on Wednesday, the final score was 11-6.

Then came the 6-4 loss to Lee County followed by the second 8-7 victory that ended shortly after midnight when Savannah Thompson drew a two-outs, bases-loaded walk to cap a four-run last-inning rally.

It was thus a weary, but jubilant group that returned home triumphantly just three hours or so before daylight Thursday after a 90-mile one-way trek for a third straight day.

“I’ll have to say our girls gave 110 percent every game,” an elated Thompson acknowledged. “They could have given up several times — especially when we were just an out away from a three-run loss to Lee in the finals — but they never did. Instead, they kept battling and finally pulled it out. We’re all as proud of them as we can be.”

Thompson said pitchers Shane Phinney, Mandy Foster and Megan Butterworth “are due a lot of credit for our success.

“The same can be said about the job Torie Holmes, Julia Davis, Summer Powell, Megan Coleman and Bailey Leger did at the plate and Savannah Brown, Savannah Thompson and Caylee Strange did in the field.

“I want to give by assistant coaches — Jeff Davis, Toby Coleman, Sherrie Leverett and Kyle Davis — a lot of praise, too, for all their time and effort.

“Really, I’d like to express a big thank you for every thing everybody did for us.”