By Sedrick Bolton III October 11, 2022
HAMPTON With the conclusion of the region three AAAAAA softball tournament, Alcovy places first with Woodward Academy being the runner up. Rockdale County finishes third and Jonesboro in fourth.
The Lady Bulldogs got out into a good start, ending with the top of the first with two Jonesboro runners left on base and preventing a run. They followed with three runs to close out the inning.
Rockdale County scored seven runs in the bottom of the second, many of them coming off Lady Cardinals' errors.
Jonesboro scores their first run with Sophomore Daeja Thrower stealing home in the top of the third. Both teams did not score in the fourth inning.
The Lady Cardinals started to build momentum with sophomore Kayla Boyd hitting a home run down center field, also bringing in senior Kayla Rice. As her teammates crowded around her at home plate, this sparked new life in Jonesboro.
"You can tell it brought us a lot of energy when we saw it go over the fence," said Jonesboro's head coach Matt Garner. "We were battling that inning...we were aggressive at the plate and that made a big difference."
Pitcher Cayla Crooks stole home to give Jonesboro their fourth run. But with bases loaded, Lady Bulldogs's catcher Laniya Smith caught a runner trying to steal home, ending the top of the fifth.
Rockdale County scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth, ending the game 13-4.
Despite losing to the Lady Bulldogs, Coach Garner, in first year as head coach, takes his team to state. He describes this moment as rewarding.
"It does feel good...mainly because of the players," said Coach Garner. "The work they put in during the off season, the work they put in at practice, they made it easy for me."
Jonesboro is set to play in the state tournament next week.
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