GUYTON, Ga. – Effingham County coach Brad Thompson says pitcher is a special position in softball.

“You have to be able to handle pressure. Maybe that’s why they put a circle around it,” Thompson said.

Thompson put Ansleigh Giordano in the circle Saturday, and the right-hander came through in the Region 1-5A Final Four tournament at South Effingham. She overpowered Glynn Academy with a two-hit shutout in a 4-0 semifinal victory, then came back later in the afternoon to steady herself after a shaky start and beat rival South Effingham 4-3. The win delivered the Rebels’ first region championship since 2021.

Ava Wiley’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh inning gave ECHS a walk-off victory over the Mustangs and shifted bragging rights back to the Rebels, who won a season-opening matchup with South before losing the rematch about a month later.

By advancing to the finals, both ECHS and SEHS earned home-field advantage in the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs, which begin Oct. 13 with a best-of-three series. The Rebels (23-6) will be the No. 1 seed from Region 1. The Mustangs (18-3) are seeded second.

Giordano shines in the circle

“Last year, we couldn’t get it done. We didn’t show up,” Giordano said. “This time we wanted it more. We’ve been winning, and it feels like we have it figured out. We just have to stay on that path.”

ECHS, ranked third in Class 5A by ScoreAtlanta, extended its winning streak to nine. In preparation for the tournament, Thompson said he gave Giordano some rest last week — and it paid off.

The Augusta University commit responded with more velocity on her fastball and dominated the Red Terrors, who never advanced a runner past second base. Glynn had split two regular-season games with the Rebels.

Against South, Giordano relied on grit. During the first four innings, she surrendered 11 hits but stranded eight runners — six in scoring position.

“This is a gritty bunch of girls,” Thompson said.

That includes their coach. Thompson was struck by a softball in the batting cage the day before and broke his jaw but declined surgery until after Saturday’s games.

Rebels find ways to score

After falling behind 1-0, ECHS struck for three runs in the second inning, highlighted by Jenny Parker’s daring baserunning. She beat out a squeeze bunt to tie the game and, seeing no one covering second base, never stopped running and turned it into a double.

A wild pitch brought in the Rebels’ second run, and Parker — noticing the pitcher wasn’t covering home — scored from second base for the third.

South tied the game in the third on Cadi Hendry’s two-run single. The Mustangs were hoping for more with the bases loaded and one out, but Giordano pitched out of further trouble. In the fourth inning, South had runners on second and third with one out — and again, Giordano shut the door.

In the seventh, with the game tied 3-3, the Rebels loaded the bases with one out. Wiley lifted a fly ball to left field in foul territory that was caught, but Cheyenne Hart tagged and scored the winning run.

“The third time was our time. We’re happy to beat them again — and beat Glynn Academy again, too,” Wiley said.

Mustangs move on with lessons learned

South finished with 13 hits but went hitless in its final seven chances with runners in scoring position.

“This was a tough loss. We don’t have anybody but ourselves to blame for this one,” Mustangs coach Adam Newland said. “At the same time, we have to move on quickly. We have the playoffs coming up. We have to coach better. We have to play better. We have to focus on next week.”

Mustangs cruise past Greenbrier

In the first game, SEHS pounded out 15 hits and run-ruled Greenbrier 12-4 in a game closer than the final score indicated.

South led 6-4 before batting around in a six-run sixth inning. Sydney Minshall, who started the frame with a walk, ended the game when her infield grounder led to an errant throw allowing the Mustangs’ 12th run to score.

All nine SEHS starters had at least one hit. Cheniyah Jackson and Makenzi Polk each had three. Danni Lynn added two hits and two RBIs, Minshall had two hits, and Alyssa Martin doubled and drove in two.

Rebels dominate Glynn in semifinal

Effingham County had little trouble in the second game, defeating eighth-ranked Glynn Academy behind Giordano’s gem.

The teams had split two regular-season games, but this time Giordano struck out seven, walked none, and allowed just two hits — one an infield single.

Shelby Zeigler’s two-out, two-run single in the first inning gave the Rebels all the runs they needed.

Hart, who had two hits and two RBIs, added a run-scoring single in the second inning and an RBI double in the fourth.

Giordano did the rest, recording five 1-2-3 innings and never allowing a Glynn baserunner past second base.

The Red Terrors topped Greenbrier 7-0 in the consolation game to earn the region’s No. 3 seed in the state tournament. Greenbrier will be the No. 4 seed.