CARTERSVILLE, Ga. — Playing as the No. 4 seed didn’t seem to faze the Eastside Lady Eagles in the softball Super Regionals last week. 

When going up against No. 1 seed Cartersville and No. 3 Kell, Eastside won three out of four matchups. 

Doing so officially advanced Eastside to the Elite Eight of the state playoffs and has it heading to Columbus. 

Head coach Heather Wood credited the teams in Region 8-AAAAA that helped Eastside upset two higher seeds. 

“Pretty much every game we played in was close, and everything was a battle,” Wood said. “These girls had to learn how to compete really fast. We couldn’t just sit back and wait. And being in the region we’re in really prepared us. When we saw the teams we faced, it was no different than what we had already seen.” 

In game one, Eastside shut out Cartersville 12-0 followed by a 4-1 victory over Kell in game two on Thursday, Oct. 19. The next day, Eastside dropped its third game to Kell 11-9, but turned around and avenged the loss with an 8-3 triumph over the Longhorns. 

The latest win allowed the Lady Eagles to take a trip to the South Commons Softball Complex this week. 

Wood couldn’t point to just one particular player as a catalyst to the team’s advancement. 

“These girls played with a lot of heart,” Wood said. “Everyone contributed and it was a complete team effort. And they played together as a unit and that’s what it took.
When you play like that, you have that mindset of wanting to play in Columbus. And they just didn’t want to fold that easily.” 

Gracie Griffis was an RBI machine, recording seven across the four games – a clip of nearly two RBIs per game. Allie Vaughn and Anslee Saunchegraw each had four RBIs, too, with Dezaria Johnson and Emma Hopper contributing three apiece. 

Emilie Jernigan and Lila Whitmire had two RBIs to their credit along with a RBI from Donee Morain. 

Johnson, as well as Eva Davis, registered some solid outings in the pitcher’s circle for the Lady Eagles, too. 

Davis finished the week allowing just five earned runs while tossing five strikeouts and five walks in 15.1 innings pitched. Johnson spent 9.2 innings in the circle and gave up just one earned run along with six strikeouts and four walks. 

Beyond the stats sheet, Wood saw her team rise to the occasion each contest and displayed determination to further their stay in this year’s state playoffs. 

“We knew we had such a great opportunity in front of us to advance to Columbus,” Wood said. “Yes, there were things we needed to clean up, but we did not want it to slip away against a team we knew we could beat.”  

Now, just being happy to be in Columbus isn’t enough for the Lady Eagles. As they did in the Super Regionals, their aim is to defeat opponents and keep their postseason going. 

Wood highlighted how being a lower seed in the playoffs is extra motivation for the players to do well. 

“It’s exciting and the players are eager to compete,” Wood said. “They’re such a great group, and I’m just excited for them to continue and make a great run. We’re there, we might as well compete.”