The first round of the state softball playoffs are this week and the Coffee Lady Trojans will be on the road to Douglasville to face the South Paulding Spartans in the first round. The Lady Trojans finished #17 in the GHSA’s final Postseason Ranking (PSR), one spot away from hosting a first-round playoff game.
Coffee finished the season with a 2-2 record over its final four games. Thomas County defeated the Lady Trojans in Thomasville 10-2 and 5-4 in the final region games of the season. Coffee bounced back and beat Thomasville 14-0 in four innings then shutout Jeff Davis 4-0 last Thursday.
Kanlee Douglas had two RBI. Allie Pridgen and Madison Adams each doubled.
Maggie Brown scattered five hits across seven innings without giving up a run or a walk. She struck out three.
The Spartans finished the season 17-9 overall and first Region 5-6A with a 12-2 mark. They were also 2-2 over their final four games, losing to Carrollton and Hillgrove while defeating Chapel Hill and Adairsville. South Paulding was #16 in the final PSR ranking.
The Lady Trojans finished 16-13 overall and 11-9 in Region 2-6A. Coffee finished #4 in the final region standings behind Lee (#1), Houston (#2), and Veterans (#3).
Softball is the first fall sport where fans get to see the GHSA’s new PSR in action. Previously, only the top four teams in a given region would make the playoffs. With the PSR, teams in the top 32 qualify for the postseason, regardless of where teams finished in their final region standings. For Region 2-6A, five teams are in the playoffs; Thomas County Central is the region’s fifth playoff team.
The playoffs begin Wednesday with a doubleheader. Should Coffee and South Paulding split, the two teams will play a winner-take-all game three on Thursday.
