STATE RUNNER-UP: Lady Dogs nearly run the gauntlet

Published 8:37 am Tuesday, November 5, 2024

With their backs against the wall following a tournament-opening loss, the GMC Prep Lady Bulldogs strung together a series of gutsy performances to earn a state softball runner-up finish in Columbus over the weekend.

Toting a starting lineup that featured four freshmen and three sophomores, head coach Jennifer Deason’s team finished just two wins shy of state champion status. This year that honor went to Emanuel County Institute of Twin City, marking the school’s second title in the last three seasons.

Deason knew her young team faced an uphill battle from the outset.

“You could look at the other teams at the opening ceremony and see on paper we shouldn’t have been there,” the sixth-year head coach said. “We had a top-notch pitcher, but with our numbers and our youth, we shouldn’t have been there. As a competitor, you’re obviously not happy unless you win it all, but state runner-up isn’t anything to hang your head about when you’re as young as we were. These kids just kept fighting.”

The Lady Dogs’ run through the eight-team, double-elimination GHSA Class A Division II state tournament wound up being six games. Five of those six ended in one-run margins, including the first. GMC Prep’s opening assignment was Screven County on Wednesday. In the end, the team that was able to string more hits together, Screven in this case, won 1-0.

Down, but not out, the Lady Dogs responded by scoring six runs in the first inning versus Metter Thursday. Freshman Bella Stubbs had a double and two RBI to help keep the season going in what became an 8-3 GMC Prep win.

Then it was on to Friday to face Schley County, a frequent playoff opponent for the Lady Dogs. The older Schley team posed a tough challenge, but the Lady Dogs made the defense work by getting multiple bunts down. One run scored in the third was all that was needed as Deason’s team won 1-0 to claim a spot among the final four teams remaining.

That was the first of four consecutive games for GMC Prep that was decided by a single run, just going to show how intense the competition was for pretty much the entire weekend.

Next on Friday was a rematch against Screven, which had lost to Lanier County and beaten Irwin County to keep its season going. GMC Prep, playing as the home team, was up 1-0 heading into the top of the seventh. It was there that Screven evened the score to force one more Lady Dog at-bat. It was up to three underclassmen to produce the game-winning run.

Sophomore Madi Mullis led off with a double to get things started. She was bunted safely over to third by freshman Sadie Schell, and Stubbs provided a single into right field to eliminate the team that had earlier pushed GMC Prep into the losers’ bracket.

More heroics were needed in the de facto semifinal round against defending state champion Lanier County Saturday. Lanier, who had just been added to the bottom bracket due to a 9-5 loss to ECI, was up 3-0 as the game approached the bottom of the seventh. GMC Prepscratched one run across to keep hope alive and flip the lineup card over.

“I couldn’t have asked to be in a better spot in my lineup,” Deason said.

Both Haley Knight and senior Bailey Tipton reached to put reigning All-County Player of the Year Hannah Garner in a position every good ballplayer dreams of. The lefty batter approached the dish with two runners on and her team down two. The opposing pitcher, aiming for the outside corner, missed her spot. Garner’s bat didn’t. The ball caught the meat of the plate and Garner’s bat as she sent the softball soaring over the fence just right of center.

The celebration was on as teammates pumped their fists and jumped up and down around the plate while they waited on their star to touch home.

After having played four straight win-or-go-home games, it felt like a corner had been turned.

“It changed things from we’re still in it to maybe the luck is on our side,” Deason said. “I felt pretty good about our chances.”

The Lady Bulldogs of ECI awaited as the final hurdle. Because it was a double-elimination tournament, Deason’s Lady Dogs needed two wins to finish off their improbable run and reach the mountaintop. Besides a 7-6 win against Irwin in the tourney opener, ECI’s wins had been relatively comfortable, especially compared to those of GMC Prep. Things got uncomfortable for the Twin City school though, when the GMC Lady Dogs got on the board in the first inning. Knight reached base and was eventually knocked in by Allie Deason to give GMC Prep a 1-0 lead.

There the score sat all the way until the bottom of the seventh. Two defensive lapses by GMC Prep allowed ECI to grab a little momentum, but the Lady Dogs did also cut down two runners at the plate. A hot shot through the 5-6 hole, just out of reach of the diving GMC Prep third baseman, was all she wrote, though. ECI won 2-1 to grab hold of its second title in program history.

“We were one out away from pulling off a miracle,” said Deason. “ECI is a very scrappy team. They were able to sneak it out from underneath us in the bottom of the seventh.”

So ended another strong GMC Prep softball season as well as the storied high school career of Hannah Garner. Her senior season was spectacular with a 1.32 earned run average and a whopping 326 strikeouts from the pitcher’s circle. Garner also hit for a .491 average with 47 RBI, all while striking out only three times all season.

Even with the loss of Garner and one other senior in Bailey Tipton, Deason feels good about her team’s future.

“I’m super pumped with what we have coming back,” she said. “I’ve got three freshmen pitchers who are going to be sophomores next year. Our defense behind the circle stays the same. We’ll put the offseason work in. I think our future’s bright for the next several seasons.”