COVINGTON, Ga. – Another day, another win. The Eastside Eagles improved to 21-0 in their final regular season home game against the East Forsyth Broncos in a 5-2 victory on Thursday.
While the Lady Broncos were entering the contest at 11-11, they proved to be a formidable opponent against Eastside, scoring the first runs of the night. But the four-RBI, one home-run performance by freshman standout Jayah Johnson solidified the Lady Eagles victory.
“I think we’ve been doing a lot of things right and they had a lot of grit tonight,” said veteran Head Coach Heather Wood. “...I’m proud of them for pulling it out tonight.”Thursday’s outing started out slow, with a pair of solid defensive stops through the first 1.5 innings. The Lady Eagles then got the bats rolling with singles from Avery Jewell and Kam Davis.
With bases loaded, defending All-Cov News slugger of the year Donee Morain attempted to get the Lady Eagles on the board. But East Forsyth was able to escape the jam, leaving the Lady Eagles empty-handed.
The Lady Broncos kept the momentum rolling in the top of the third inning, scoring two runs to take the lead at 2-0.
But this only seemed to fire up the Lady Eagles. Ansley Hartman and Allie Vaughn immediately notched two base singles. This set up a two-run RBI single by Johnson to tie it up at 2-2.
East Forsyth attempted to answer at the midway point of the game. But a strikeout by birthday girl Eva Davis dashed the Lady Broncos hopes of scoring in the fourth inning.
After an unsuccessful fourth inning by Eastside, East Forsyth started out strong again with a double. History repeated itself, however, as Davis ended the top of the fifth frame with another strikeout.
Another Vaughn single set up the difference-making play of the game, as Johnson nailed a home run to put the Lady Eagles up 4-2.
“It felt amazing,” Johnson said when asked about her game-changing home run. “When I get to the box, I don’t really try to score home runs, I just got there and try to score for my teammates. Just coming around third base and seeing those smiles and them yelling, it’s just a feeling that’s amazing.”
The bats continued to work well for Eastside in the sixth inning with another hit by Morain and an RBI-single by Ansley Hartman.
The Lady Broncos gave it one last go in the seventh inning. But two ground outs and a strikeout by reliever Kylee Lawrence put a ribbon on the Lady Eagles’ 5-2 win.
While the win was hard-faught, Wood knows that there is still some work left to be done.
“We also know there's areas that we need to do better,” Wood said. “That’s offensively. I think there were moments that we could have found ways to manufacture more runs. Our pitchers are doing a great job. Our defense, for the most part, has come through. I’d like to see us score a few more runs, but, again, we found a way to win.”
Now at 21-0, the Lady Eagles have all the momentum in the world heading into the playoffs. But the short trail before the postseason does not get easier.
On Monday, the Lady Eagles will play a best-of-three series against Walnut Grove for the 8-AAAA championship. Two days later, they will face Morgan County on the road.
The big test for Eastside will come next Thursday, when they face the state’s very best in the Buford Lady Wolves on the road. Buford currently sits at 25-0 and is ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 2 in the country, according to MaxPreps.
