REGION 1-AAAA TOURNAMENT: Worth County beats Thomas County Central in extra innings

ALBANY — Worth County wanted no part of having to play two games on Thursday to win the Region 1-AAAA softball championship.

So instead, they mounted a big comeback to beat Thomas County Central 10-6 Wednesday night at Gordon Complex, meaning the Lady Rams will await the winner of an elimination game between TCC and Bainbridge for the championship at 5 p.m. today

The Lady Rams entered the seventh inning down by a run but tied the game at six after a two-out double by Brinsley Graddy. Worth pitcher Caroline Newton came up big in the bottom of the seventh, striking out the final two batters to strand the winning run at second base.

They then added four runs in the top of the eighth to take the lead. Newton shut Thomas County Central down in the bottom of the eighth, forcing three pop-ups to retire the side.

“I think we came out ready to play. My defense worked great behind me and the offense was awesome,” Newton said.

In other elimination games on Wednesday, Bainbridge eliminated Crisp County with an 11-7 setback and Cook eliminated Cairo with a 11-3 victory. Then Cook beat Bainbridge 3-1 to eliminate the Lady Bearcats.

Thomas County Central will play Cook at 3 p.m. today with the winner earning another crack at Worth County, who has beaten both teams in the region tournament.

Worth jumped out to a lead in the top of the first inning after singles by Taylor Layfield and Lindsey Toneygay, followed by a Newton double put them up 2-0. It looked like it could be a long night for the Thomas County Central bats after Newton struck out the side in the opening frame.

Worth added another run to their lead in the second inning after Abbey Adkins drove in McKenzie Newell with a single that turned into a two-base error after a misplay in right field.

But TCC answered right back in the bottom of the second inning, scoring four runs in the frame. The big blow came on a two-run double by Leila Hurst that made the score 4-3. The Lady Yellow Jackets got to Newton with three singles and a hit by pitch.

After a the shaky second inning, Newton retired the side in order in the third and the only base runner in the fourth inning came after an error. The Lady Rams put an end to the inning quickly, getting the next batter to pop out.

TCC struck for two more runs in the fifth inning, one of which came after an RBI triple by Payton Burton. Parker Madeline made the score 6-3 after lacing a single that hit Newton in the foot.

Newton stayed in the game and finished the inning on the next batter.

Worth started the comeback in the top of the sixth inning. After two consecutive singles to open the inning, the Lady Rams found themselves with two on and two out. Newell popped one up behind second base that fell in between the shortstop and center fielder. Newton and Toneygay raced home to cut the lead to 6-5.

“All year long, my girls love to compete,” Worth coach Kaleb Hathcock said. “They never think they are out of the game. They have been it that situation before and it paid off for us now.”

After two quick outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Lady Jackets got runners on first and second with two singles. Newell made a jumping catch on a line drive to end the inning and keep the game within a run.