Baconton Charter advances to state softball tournament

BACONTON — Wednesday afternoon, the Lady Blazers of Baconton Charter welcomed Taylor County to town for a best-of-three series in the first round of the Class A public school softball playoffs.

The home team comfortably won the first matchup 7-3.

The second game, however, was a bit more dramatic.

But the Lady Blazers punched their ticket to the state softball tournament in Columbus with a 9-7 victory in Game 2, sweeping the series.

In Game 2, Taylor County jumped out to an early lead in the first inning thanks to a three-run homer by catcher Brette Moore. The Blazers added a run on an RBI single to left field by freshman Haley Crosby in the bottom half of the first.

The next time they came to bat, Kloe Daughtry plated two runs on an RBI double after a fielder’s choice by Bayley Birdsong scored Katie Classon. Daughtry would later score on a wild pitch, giving the Blazers a 6-3 lead.

After a two-run single gave the Blazers a five-run lead in the top of the fifth, the Lady Vikings clawed back with a three-run fifth inning, in which RBI single by senior Brittany Love was followed by Brette Moore’s second home run of the day.”

“Every time we turned around, their catcher (Moore) kept hitting home runs and getting them back in the game,” Baconton coach Bubber Birdsong said of the Vikings’ senior. Moore finished 2 for 2 with five RBIs and two walks.

Crosby would add another insurance run with an RBI double in the top of the seventh. In the last frame, with the tying run standing on second after Stormie Campbell drove in a run on a fielder’s choice, pitcher Gracie Campbell caught a grounder by Kiera Stinson and sent her team to the next round.

“We’ve done it all year,” Birdsong said of the Blazers’ escape. “We’ve just never done it with a trip to Columbus at stake. That made it really big for us.”

Counting this win, the Lady Blazers have won five games by a margin of two runs or less.

“She was a little hurt today,” Birdsong said of his starting pitcher. “Her back was a little stiff but she gutted it out. She made pitches when we had to have them.

They had a little rally going there,” coach Birdsong said of the seventh inning. “We made a couple of plays to pull it out, that’s big for us. Last year we left the winning run in scoring position to go to Columbus, and this year we made it out, so maybe it’s meant to be.”

Birdsong knows the top-ranked Lady Blazers still have work to do in the state tournament.

“Once you get to Columbus, all eight teams are good,” a relieved Birdsong said before rejoining his team. “We’ve just got to do what we’ve been doing, you can’t do anything but that.”

Baconton will play the winner of Charlton County and Schley County on Thursday at South Commons Park in Columbus. The tournament is double-elimination.

Emily Everson finished 2 for 2 with two walks, Kloe Daughtry added two RBIs and a run. Haley Crosby led the team with four RBIs.