It’s off to round two of the state softball playoffs for the Coffee Lady Trojans.
Coffee swept the South Paulding Spartans 5-1 and 3-1 in a first-round doubleheader in Douglasville Wednesday afternoon. Pitchers Maggie Brown and Kanlee Douglas combined to hold the Spartans to two runs on 11 hits while striking out 12 over the two games. In game two, back-to-back home runs by Douglas and Ella Edge sealed the game and the sweep.
In game one, the Lady Trojans scored three in the first and two in the second to jump out to a 5-0 lead. The Spartans scored their only run of the game in the second when Kinley Donaldson scored on a two-out single by Brylee Young.
Coffee ran into a little trouble in the bottom of the sixth. Brooklynn Barron and Charlie Allen singled to lead off the inning. After a strikeout, Emma Kuykendall singled to load the bases with one out. The tying run came to the plate and Brown went work, recording a strikeout on three straight pitches. The Spartans still had another opportunity to do some damage but Brown coerced a pop out to Douglas at third to end the inning and the rally.
Edge had three hits and two runs. Madison Adams also had three hits. Douglas had two hits while Allie Pridgen and Brown each drove in a pair of runs. Pridgen had the only extra base hit for Coffee, a double.
Brown allowed an unearned run on four hits while striking out eight to one walk.
In the nightcap, South Paulding struck first, taking a 1-0 lead in the second on single by Young that scored Addison Hudec. Coffee tied the game two innings later when Adams scored Pridgen on an RBI single.
The Lady Trojans used a pair of home runs to pull away for good in the fifth inning. Douglas homered to center on a 3-1 pitch to give Coffee a 2-1 advantage. Edge followed with a home run of her own to provide the Lady Trojans a two-run cushion.
Brown, playing third, was the only Lady Trojan with multiple hits. She was 2-3 on the day. Douglas gave up one run on seven hits. She struck out four and walked two.
The Lady Trojans will travel for the second round but they’re staying a lot closer to home. Coffee will face South Effingham, the state’s #1 team in the GHSA’s Postseason Rankings, in round two. South Effingham defeated Greenbrier 13-0 and 11-0 on Wednesday.
Photo courtesy of Gavin Vickers
