COVINGTON, Ga. — The Eastside Lady Eagles defended the Newton Cup and their home turf with a 11-3 win over the Newton Lady Rams on Diamond Day to hoist the trophy once again.
After defeating the Alcovy Lady Tigers in the second game on Diamond Day, Eastside had the chance to secure the Newton Cup with a win over Newton in the third and final game of the day.
While winning the Newton Cup is a big feat in itself, defending it on your home turf was a big factor for the Lady Eagles, according to head coach Heather Wood.
“We take a lot of pride in these rivalry games,” Wood said. “We want to make sure we are representing our school. These games mean a lot to our community, to our program and to our team spirit — I think that showed today. It was a great feeling winning last year and we just wanted to continue that this year.”
Following a quick turnaround after game two, the Lady Eagles induced a one-two-three inning from Newton to open the contest.
When the Lady Eagles came to the plate, they were able to load the bases with only one out. This allowed Savanna Griffin to score the game’s first run on a sacrifice fly.
By the end of the second inning, Eastside’s lead was upped to seven.
After a hit-by-pitch and a single, Allie Vaughn doubled both runs in. Senior Anslee Saunchegraw walked in the next at-bat, which allowed Eva Davis and Avery Jewell to drive in three runs total on a pair of RBI doubles.
Before the inning could come to a close, Eastside scored an additional run on an infield error from the Lady Rams to make it a 7-0 lead.
In the next half-inning, things did not start well for Newton as Vaughn struck out the first two batters. However, a single from Zaikerryia Smith set up Tiara Moody to drive in the Lady Rams’ first run of the game on a single to center field.
Moody’s RBI knock trimmed the Lady Eagles’ lead down to 7-1. But, in the next half-inning, Eastside put together another scoring rally.
A leadoff double eventually set up Saunchegraw to score the run on an RBI single. Eastside scored runs on the ensuing two at-bats with a sacrifice fly from Davis and a RBI ground out from Jewell.
Jewell’s RBI groundout gave the Lady Eagles a 10-1 lead.
In the next inning for Eastside, the team scored another run on a RBI groundout —this time from Alyssa Hartman.
For the Lady Rams, their final two runs came on a RBI groundout and a run-scoring single in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively.
With a runner on first and two outs in the top of the fifth, Vaughn forced the fly out for the final out of the game as Eastside won 11-3 via run rule.
The win marks the second consecutive year that the Eastside Eagles have won the Newton Cup on the softball diamond.
Vaughn started the game for the Lady Eagles and pitched the entire five innings. Through five, she struck out four batters and allowed two earned runs on six hits.
On a day in which Eastside and Wood were without two of their best players — Donee Moraina and Kylee Lawrence — the Lady Eagles’ head coach was pleased with the effort her team put in to defend the trophy.
“I think the players we had come in and play in their place stepped up,” Wood said. “We did have to shift our lineup a bit and also move around our defense. It just shows how solid our team is and how we have a lot of depth here. Those players can come in and step up on any occasion. I think it shows how strong our team is that we can have players that can come in and contribute right away.”
In game three, Davis and Cadence McCollough came away with two hits each. Jewell led the team with three RBI’s against the Lady Rams.
The win for Eastside moves the team to 6-0 on the year — the team’s best start since the 2014-15 season when the Lady Eagles won the first eight games.
After coaching multiple Columbus-bound teams, Wood shared why she thinks this year’s team can be the best of the bunch.
“It is one of the strongest lineups I have had in terms of one through nine,” Wood said. “I’ve had teams in the past where we had our top four batters [be really good] or we had a dominant pitcher. But this as a whole has been the most talented and, as a whole, one of the best teams I’ve had the opportunity to coach.
“I’ve coached a lot of great players and have had a lot of good teams, but if you notice, the bottom of our order contributes just as much as the top. I think that is really going to make a difference this year and hopefully help us make a run in October.”
For the Lady Rams, Smith and Moody led the way offensively. The two tallied two hits apiece.
Following the win, the Lady Eagles will go on the road for the group’s second Region 8-AAAA matchup of the season. Eastside will play Madison County Tuesday, Aug. 27 at 6:30 p.m.
The Lady Rams will look to bounce back from a pair of Diamond Day losses when they face Region 4-AAAAAA foe Heritage Patriots at home on Monday, Aug. 26.
