COLUMBUS, Ga. — South Effingham didn’t wait long Thursday night to make up for an offensive drought a day earlier on Day 2 of the Class 6A State Softball Championships in Columbus.
The Mustangs scored three runs in each of the first two innings and pulled away with four more in the fifth to overpower Loganville, 12-5.
South (29-3) stayed alive in the eight-team, double-elimination tournament after suffering a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Houston County in Wednesday’s opener. The Mustangs will face Lee County in another must-win elimination game Friday at 1:15 p.m.
If South wins, it will play again at 5:45 p.m.
Mustangs strike early
A journey of 1,000 miles starts with a single step, and the Mustangs put their right foot forward against the Red Devils.
South finished with 11 hits, including six for extra bases, and took advantage of five errors, three hit batsmen and a walk to create a traffic jam on the bases.
Four of the errors, one hit batsman and the walk resulted in runs.
Alyssa Martin had a double and a home run and drove in four runs. Freshman Destiny Hutchen had three hits, including a double, and three RBIs. Slap hitter Olivia Johnson added two hits and two RBIs.
Loganville (27-7) has been a thorn in the side of local teams in recent softball postseasons. The Red Devils rallied to eliminate Effingham County in the same round last season and beat the Rebels in a best-of-three series, two games to one, in the second round of the state playoffs this season.
South, which managed just four hits against Houston County, capitalized on three Loganville errors after just four batters Thursday to score its first run. With two outs, Sydney Minshall’s double drove in two more runs for a 3-0 lead.
In the second inning, Martin smacked a three-run home run to center field to extend the lead to 6-1.
Fifth-inning response
The Red Devils got back in the game in the top of the fifth inning on Sky Kenny’s three-run homer, cutting South’s advantage to 7-5.
But the Mustangs answered with four runs in the bottom half of the inning. Five of the first six batters reached base, including three who hit doubles.
Johnson’s ground ball was booted for the first run of the inning. Two batters later, Martin doubled in a run, and Hutchen followed with a two-run double to make it 11-5.
Jackson, Ward handle pitching
Right-hander Cheniyah Jackson pitched four innings, allowing six hits and two runs while striking out four and walking one.
Kendall Ward, the third Mustangs pitcher, worked 2 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the save.
Loganville finished with 10 hits but left 10 runners on base. The Red Devils were just 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
