Lady Patriots pick up road region win over Echols

Published 2:06 am Saturday, September 29, 2018

Staff Reports

STATENVILLE- The Wilcox County Lady Patriots got a boost to their postseason hopes with a big road win on Tuesday evening over one of the teams ahead of them in region 2-A play, Echols County (11-6). The Lady Patriots fell behind 2-0 in the third inning but came back to take the lead using a four run top of the fifth before holding on for a 4-3 win.

The fifth inning rally started out with back-to-back singles from Maci Martin and Jalynn Keene. Camya Dawson followed with an RBI single to score Martin, and Chastity Stephens then tied the score at 2-2 with an RBI double that scored Keene. Walls subsequently gave Wilcox the 4-2 lead with an RBI single to center field that allowed Dawson and Stephens to make it to home plate.

Echols County picked up a run in the bottom half of the inning to make the score 4-3, but the Lady Patriots made the needed plays on defense to hold on for the win.

Stephens got the victory in the circle with seven innings pitched in which she allowed just three runs on six Echols hits and struck out eight batters. Walls and Martin led the Wilcox batting lineup with two hits apiece.

After a difficult start to the season against some very competitive teams, the Lady Patriots have brought their record out to 9-13 overall with an 8-4 mark in region play. As of the most recent GHSA class A softball playoff power rankings the Lady Patriots were ranked 22. The top 24 ranked teams make the playoffs at the conclusion of the season.

The Lady Patriots have three games remaining in the 2018 regular season, Monday at home against Turner County (2-18), Tuesday at Hawkinsville High School (17-4, ranked number four), and Clinch County (6-14).