Warriors, Mustangs Reach Softball Elite 8

Kennesaw has two teams in the Georgia High School Association’s AAAAA softball Elite Eight after and each won the third game of best-of-three series Thursday.

, however, will not be joining them in the eight-team, double-elimination championship tournament next week in Columbus. East Coweta swept the Hoyas out of the second round, winning 5-2 and 4-1 Wednesday in Coweta County, the Newnan Times-Herald reported.

It’s not a loss Harrison should be ashamed of: East Coweta is making its seventh consecutive trip to the Elite Eight.

Still, Harrison is the only one of the four Region 4-AAAAA qualifiers for the GHSA state tournament not to make it to the championship round. Joining Kennesaw Mountain and North Cobb in Columbus will be the region champ, , which knocked out Newnan with a sweep Thursday, the Times-Herald said.

Kennesaw Mountain had to travel all the way to Valdosta for its second-round series against Lowndes, and the Mustangs appeared to be in serious trouble Wednesday, the Valdosta Daily Times reported.

Lowndes won the opening game, 3-1, and Kennesaw Mountain trailed 5-2 in the bottom of the seventh and final inning of Game 2. But the Mustangs sent the game into extra innings and won on a walk-off three-run homer by Molly Uhrman in the ninth, the Daily Times said.

Kennesaw Mountain didn’t need any such heroics in Thursday’s Game 3, winning 9-0.

It was a reversal of last year’s AAAAA second round, when Lowndes swept the Mustangs, 3-1 and 6-3.

Meanwhile, North Cobb had to stake its own comeback at Coffee County after losing Game 1, 7-4.

The Warriors’ pitching and defense did the job, limiting Coffee to one run the next two games.

North Cobb won Game 2, 4-0, on a no-hitter; Kelly Barnhill did the job as the Warriors’ starting pitcher.

Coffee managed two hits in Game 3 and took a 1-0 lead in the third inning, but North Cobb scored three times in the bottom of the sixth for the 3-1 win.

You can view virtual replays of all three games through iScoreSports.

North Cobb will open play in Columbus against at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Kennesaw Mountain starts play at the same time against .

The Columbus tournament runs from Thursday to Saturday next week.

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