COLUMBUS, Ga. – South Effingham found the perfect time to get hot – on a cold Thursday in Columbus at the Class 5A state fast-pitch tournament.

Mustangs right-hander Cheniyah Jackson pitched two three-hit shutouts, and South’s offense looked like an unstoppable merry-go-round at times en route to a 6-0 win over Lassiter in the opener and a 12-0 rout of Jackson County during the first day of the elite eight tournament at South Commons Softball Complex.

South (25-3) stayed in the winners’ bracket of the double-elimination tournament and will face defending champion Creekview on Friday at 5 p.m. The winner advances to the state championship round on Saturday.

“The kids did an outstanding job – enough to make it a great day,” SEHS coach Adam Newland said.

Jackson dominates in the circle

The Mustangs made Day 1 look easy, pulling away down the stretch like Secretariat. In the first game, with morning temperatures hovering in the low 50s, they broke open a scoreless duel with four runs in the fifth inning. In the second game, they struck for four more in the fifth before scoring seven in the sixth.

South has outscored its opponents 64-12 in six state tournament games.

Meanwhile, Jackson was sharp against Lassiter and even better against Jackson County. Lassiter reached third base in the first two innings but only managed two baserunners past first the rest of the way.

In the nightcap, Jackson retired the first 11 batters before allowing a double to Ryleigh O’Brien – the only Jackson County player to advance past first base.

Jackson struck out three against Lassiter and seven against Jackson County.

“That was probably the best we’ve seen her throw this year,” Newland said. “We knew she’d be up for two games, and she did a great job.”

Balanced offense powers two wins

Offensively, South got production throughout the lineup, starting with leadoff hitter Sydney Minshall, who reached base in all eight plate appearances (two hits, four walks and two errors).

Minshall’s heads-up baserunning loomed large against Lassiter when she scored the first run of the game by sliding wide of the plate and sneaking her hand under the tag of catcher Atley Ward.

Justine Nevels drove in the second run with a double, and Abbey Jordan followed with a two-run single to make it 4-0. South added two more in the seventh on Taylor Swann’s RBI single and Nevels’ steal of home on the back end of a double steal.

Nevels got the Mustangs rolling in Game 2 with a solo home run in the fourth inning against Jackson County.

In the fifth, Danni Lynn’s RBI double preceded Alyssa Martin’s three-run homer to make it 5-0.

South then sent 12 batters to the plate in the sixth inning to finish off the scoring. Swann had two hits in the inning, Lynn doubled home two runs, and Johnson, Martin, Jordan, Swann and Makenzi Polk each added RBIs during the onslaught.

Martin finished with four RBIs. Lynn had two doubles and drove in three runs. Nevels, Jordan, Swann and Johnson each had two hits and an RBI.

The game ended after six innings because of the mercy rule – an eight-run lead or more after five innings.

SEHS now stands just two wins away from a state championship.

“Obviously, it becomes a much more manageable tournament the longer you can stay in the winners’ bracket,” Newland said.