COVINGTON, Ga. — Solid performances all around in back-to-back games have the Eastside Lady Eagles poised to keep the success moving along. Eastside defeated non-region opponent Jasper County 9-3 on Tuesday and followed it up with a 12-0 win over Clarke Central on Thursday — the Lady Eagles’ first region win of 2022. 

Head coach Heather Wood highlighted how her team is beginning to show the potential she saw even before the season began. 

“We’re a very good team,” Wood said. “We’re young and inexperienced, but we have the tools and the talent we need to be successful. It’s really the end result we’re focusing on and building confidence among the girls to battle and compete every single game.” 

As a result of the two wins this week, Eastside is now back to .500 at 4-4 overall and improved to 1-3 in Region 8-AAAAA. It also overtakes Clarke Central for fifth place in the region standings. 

The winning streak also follows a stretch where the Lady Eagles lost four of its five games. 

A point of emphasis for Wood on her team’s performance this year has been her players’ approaches to each at-bat. She said that’s been a noticeable change to help string wins together. 

In fact, the entire Lady Eagles squad had their second-best hitting performance in region play on Thursday. 

As a team, Eastside went 13-for-25 against Clarke Central for a .413 batting average. On Tuesday, Eastside batted .342. 

Multiple players have stepped up their game at the plate to assist in the team’s increased offensive production. 

First, the leadoff hitter Donee Morrain went 5-for-8 (.625) across the two games. Dezaria Johnson and Gracie Griffis are batting .500 each this week with a combined seven RBIs. Johnson can also say she hit the first home run by a Lady Eagle at their new facility, too. 

Freshman Eva Davis has held it down in the pitcher’s circle registering nine innings pitched with 15 strikeouts, two walks and just one earned run this week. Davis also threw a four-inning no-hitter against the Lady Gladiators to close out the week. 

Wood commended Davis’ performances as a freshman. 

“Her demeanor on the mound looks like an upperclassmen pitcher,” Wood said. “And the way she’s carried herself has made such a great impact this season for us.” 

Nevertheless, the Lady Eagles have a challenging region to contend with having  Loganville, Jefferson, Flowery Branch and Winder-Barrow ranked above in the region standings. 

Next week, Eastside will face ELCA on Monday, travel to Loganville on Tuesday and conclude the week at Heritage on Thursday. 

Before looking to the next batch of games, Wood stressed the significance of sparking a two-game winning streak at this point in the season. 

“It’s all about confidence,” Wood said. “This week was great for that. We have the skills and talent, but we need these girls to understand that, it’s OK to fail, but we still need to have that confidence to move forward. And having a great week this week will carry us into next week.”