COVINGTON, Ga. - None of the current players on Alcovy’s softball team had ever played in an inning of a postseason game.
That is no longer the case.
On Thursday, before the regular season ended on Friday, the Lady Tigers officially stamped their ticket into the 2021 Class 6A State Playoffs.
It had been five years since the Lady Tigers had achieved this goal.
Qualifying for the state playoffs is a symbol of a step forward, according to head coach Miranda Lamb.
“It means that our program is going somewhere,” Lamb said. “All of the work that the coaches and players have put in is finally paying off.”
This season hasn’t dealt the Lady Tigers any favors either.
Mother Nature has altered their schedule numerous times, COVID-19 affected parts of the season early and other bumps in the road have tried to stand in Alcovy’s way.
But it preservered through it all which makes this history-making feat that much more impressive.
“We’re happy to be there,” Lamb said. “With all of this rain, that’s been another opponent to deal with this year. We’re hoping to compete and we’ll get to see what it’s like to play and coach in the playoffs.”
As a member of Region 3-AAAAAA, the Lady Tigers concluded the regular season with a 11-12 overall record along with a 6-6 region record. That gave them fourth place behind Evans, Grovetown and Lakeside.
Alcovy’s 2021 final standing shows a vast improvement from a year ago when they finished 5-16 overall and 4-11 in region.
Lamb has noticed the improvement the past five years since she’s been the head coach. It’s started with this year’s seniors, she said, and the entire group has “bought in.”
Though the signs of improvement are evident, it doesn’t mean Lamb believes Alcovy’s softball program has reached its ceiling.
“We hope this can be a recurring thing year after year,” Lamb said. “[The players] just need to see themselves there and realize they can compete at that level.”
Eastside Playoff Picture
The Lady Eagles of Eastside High School had to wrap up their regular season at the University of North Georgia due to all of the rain outs last week.
They played all three of their remaining games on Friday in which the Lady Eagles went 3-0.
Eastside defeated Walnut Grove 5-1 to start the day. It, then, went on to sweep the doubleheader against Greenbrier 8-6 and 13-6, respectively.
As a result of their 16-2 record in Region 8-AAAAA, the Lady Eagles will enter the Class 5A playoffs as the No. 2 seed. They hosted Lithia Springs on Tuesday.
Newton Playoff Picture
Newton moved up to third in the Region 4-AAAAAAA standings prior to the conclusion of the regular season.
It defeated Brookwood 9-3 on Oct. 7.
The win gave the Lady Rams a 2-1 season series advantage over Brookwood. As a result, the tie for third place was broken between the two schools and landed Newton in third place.
Next up for the Lady Rams is a road matchup with the Newnan Lady Cougars on Wednesday, Oct. 13.
Social Circle Playoff Picture
On Saturday, the Lady Redskins claimed the Region 8A-Public Championship by defeating Commerce 11-8 in game two of the doubleheader.
Therefore, Social Circle will have the No. 1 seed entering the playoffs and will host throughout.
First on the docket are the Bowdon Lady Red Devils. They’ll come to town on Wednesday, Oct. 13.
