Nettes softball wins Super Regional; advances to Elite 8
PHS Softball, Team FYN Sports October 18, 2023
Tyrone, Ga — After finishing 3rd in region 7 of the 3A classification, the Pickens Dragonettes softball team were placed in a Super Regional with the LaFayette Lady Ramblers, Monroe Area Lady Purple Hurricanes, and the hosting Sandy Creek Lady Patriots. In the double elimination format, the Nettes needed three wins to advance to the Elite 8 in Columbus.
On Monday, October 16th, the Nettes took on the LaFayette Lady Ramblers. The Lady Ramblers, were in 1st place in 6-AAA until the final stretch of the regular season which saw them drop to the #2 seed. The two teams went back and forth for most of the game, and they needed extra innings to decide the winner. With a runner on in the top of the eighth, Senior and West Georgia commit Ally Long, cranked one over the fence to help propel the Nettes to a 4-2 over the Lady Ramblers.
The Nettes, were back at it again on Tuesday, October 17th looking to punch their ticket to the Elite 8. First opponent of the day, the Monroe Area Lady Purple Hurricanes. The Nettes, finding themselves down 5-0 in the bottom of the sixth, didn’t panic and scored 7 runs in the bottom of the frame, with 6 of those runs coming with two outs. Senior Charli Fendley, drove in the game winning runs with a 2-run double as the Nettes came back to win it, 7-5. That win sent them to the championship of their Super Regional and they would only need one win to advance to the Elite 8.
The championship of this Super regional saw a rematch between the Nettes and the Lady Ramblers. the Lady Ramblers, eliminated both Sandy Creek and Monroe Area prior to advancing to this game. Needing to win twice, the Lady Ramblers, stayed hot as they took the first game, 13-0. With everything still in front of them, the Nettes were just one win away from advancing to the Elite 8.
Senior Skyler Weaver, got the Nettes on the board first as she drove in Fendley with a sacrifice fly to make it 1-0. The Lady Ramblers, would tie things up at 1 in the bottom of the second with an RBI single. Junior Lexi Grizzle, who was also pitching for the Nettes, gave Pickens the lead as she sent one over the center field wall to make it 3-1 Nettes. LaFayette, would cut the lead down to 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth. The Nettes, got that run back in the top of the sixth as Weaver sent one over the left field wall to make it 4-2.
The Lady Ramblers, again cut into the lead as they would plate a run after a two base error. Going to the top of the seventh, the Nettes led it 4-3. Pickens, would add on to their lead as Weaver hit a 3-run double into center to make it 7-3. Grizzle, finished off the complete game in the bottom of the seventh as the Nettes took this one, 7-3 to advance to Columbus and the Elite 8.
Skyler Weaver, had two massive hits and drove in 5 of the 7 runs. Lexi Grizzle, tossed a complete game going 7 innings, allowing 9 hits, 3 runs, 1 earned run, struck out and walked a pair of batters on 118 pitches. Grizzle also got it done at the plate with a pair of hits and 2 RBI.
The Nettes, will join Jackson, Wesleyan, Morgan County, Harlem, Gordon Lee, Hebron Christian, and Pike County next week in Columbus as the 3A Elite 8 starts on Wednesday, October 25th.
Region battle between Pickens and Cedartown comes down to the wire
PHS Softball, Team FYN Sports September 2, 2021
Jasper, GA — On Thursday, September 2nd, the Pickens Dragonettes varsity softball team welcomed the Cedartown Lady Bulldogs to Dunn Field for game 1 of their three game region series. These two teams were originally scheduled to begin this series at Cedartown on Tuesday, but due to rain brought in by Hurricane Ida, that game was postponed. Prior to the ball game starting, Pickens High School held a ceremony formally announcing the name of the softball/baseball field as Dunn Field. the field, is named after Matthew Dunn. Dunn, played multiple sports at PHS, but was most known for baseball. Dunn, hit a career .400 average at PHS. In 2002, he was named MVP. Dunn went on to star at both the University of Virginia and the University of Georgia. The Dunn family, has been very generous to Pickens High School and Pickens County in general over the years.
Nettes’ starter Emma Black kept the Lady Bulldogs bats quiet in the top of the 1st and it was time for Pickens to come up to bat. In the bottom of the inning, Hannah Grizzle got things going with an infield single. McKayla Kirchoff then bunted her over to 2nd. After a grounder, Grizzle then moved over to 3rd. Black, helped herself out as she drove in Grizzle to give the Nettes an early 1-0 lead.
In the top of the 2nd, Black was able to force two quick Lady Bulldogs outs, then Cedartown drew a walk and was hit by a pitch. Black then settled down and got a strikeout to send us to the bottom of the frame. In the bottom of the 2nd, Pickens went down in order. Going to the top of the 3rd, the Nettes still held a 1-0 lead.
Neither team got anything going in the 3rd inning as we had a pretty good pitching match up going on. In the top of the 4th, Cedartown was able to spark a little two out rally as the Lady Bulldogs plated a run to tie things up at 1. In the bottom of the 4th, Black led off by drawing a walk. The Nettes were unable to bring that lead off walk in as we would head to the 5th with the ball game now tied at 1.
In the top of the 5th, Cedartown again got runs with two outs as they got a 2-run home run to take a 3-1 lead. The Nettes were unable to get anything going in the bottom of the frame and we’d go to the 6th, Lady Bulldogs up, 3-1.
The top of the 6th saw Cedartown again plate another 2 runs to extend their lead over Pickens, 5-1. The Nettes, knew they had to rally soon and they did just that in the bottom of the 6th. Kirchoff drew a walk, followed by a single from Allie Long. The next two batters would strikeout, then fly out. With two outs, and two on, Hope Buchanan smacked the ball over the center field fence to cut the Lady Bulldogs lead down to 5-4.
In the top of the 7th, Cedartown was able to take advantage of some miscues and got three runs of their own to extend their lead to 8-4. In the bottom of the 7th, after two quick outs, the Nettes tried to rally again. Kirchoff reached 3rd after an error in the outfield. Long, then reached on an error as well, scoring Kirchoff. The Lady Bulldogs were able to get the final out and pick up the win, 8-5.
These same two teams will play one another in a doubleheader on Friday, September 3rd. Game one will start at 4 pm. Game two will follow afterwards.