Buford wins its 11th GHSA softball state championship

The state of Georgia crowned eight softball state champions this weekend, led by the dominance AAAAAAA winner Buford, which won the 11th state crown in school history.

Also winning state titles were Pope (AAAAAA), Northside-Columbus (AAAAA), West Laurens (AAAA), Wesleyan (AAA), Jeff Davis (AA), Emanuel County (A Div. 1), and Heard County (A Div. 2).

Here is a recap of the action:

Buford wins Class AAAAAAA State Championship

There was no softball team more dominant in the state of Georgia than the Buford Wolves this year. The Wolves lost only once this season and rolled to their 11th softball state championship in program history after dismantling East Coweta, 9-1, on Saturday.

Freshman sensation Caroline Stanton put an exclamation on her terrific season with a pair of 2-run homers in the game, one to start it and one to end it. Senior pitcher Olivia Duncan took care of the rest, pitching seven innings of 3-hit, 1-run ball while striking out three.

“It’s awesome,'' Buford head coach Trent Adams said. “I’m proud of these girls. I’m proud of our school, our community, and our city. I want to thank the Board of Education and our city for what they do for these girls, our student-athletes. It’s unbelievable how much they pour into them.”

The Wolves got on the board first with a 2-out, 2-run home run by Stanton after Adriana Martinez walked. Leading 2-0 after one inning, the Wolves took a 3-0 advantage when fellow freshman Summer Castorri scored on a passed ball.

They scored three more runs in the fourth inning, the first two on a hit-by-pitch and another passed ball, and the third on a Martinez RBI single. Madison PIckens made it 7-1 when she drove home Tavye Borders on a sacrifice fly.

Stanton then put the icing on the cake with her second 2-run homer of the game in the seventh, her 14th and final homer of the season.

The Wolves finished the season with a record of 32-1 with their lone loss coming in the Super Regional to Lambert. In the Elite 8 tournament in Macon to decide the state champion, the Wolves beat Parkview, East Coweta, North Gwinnett and then East Coweta again in the finals.

“We try to schedule hard and I feel like the schedule was really hard,” Adams said. “It prepared us for the Super Sectionals and then getting down here to Columbus. I’ve always said there’s no pressure like Columbus pressure, and I feel like our girls and our schedule helped on the front end for that.”

Pope wins Class AAAAAA State Championship

The Pope softball team capped off a tremendous 2022 season with a 6-3 victory over Apalachee to win the Class AAAAAA state championship on Saturday.

It’s the third state championship in program history after previously winning in 2014 and 2019.

The Greyhounds were dominant at the state championship tournament in Columbus, going a perfect 4-0 with wins against Effingham County 8-0, River Ridge 4-2 and Apalachee twice, 4-0 and 6-3 in the title game.

Pope finishes the season with a 35-1 record.

Kendall Frost was great in the circle for the Greyhounds, tossing seven innings of 5-hit, 3-run ball while striking out six.

The offense was even better after recording 13 hits and six runs on the day. Sam Tener went 3-for-3 with two doubles and scored two runs. Frost recorded two hits, as did Ellie Paley, both of which drove in Jadyn Laneaux. Laneaux had a first-inning single before getting intentionally walked in her last three plate appearances.

Pope head coach Ellie Viland raved about her team’s defense on the day.

“Not shown within the stats was lockdown defense in the infield, with some great plays all around, including a couple of hot shot stops by third baseman Kailey Martin, and backhand plays in the hole by shortstop Addi Trotter,” Viland said. 

Northside-Columbus wins Class AAAAA State Championship

The Northside-Columbus softball team claimed the Class AAAAA state title on Saturday after defeating Loganville 4-0. It’s the Patriots first softball state championship since 2017.

Sophomore pitcher Abby Lovell was dominant against the Red Devils, tossing seven shutout innings, allowing just three hits. Senior Chloe Hatcher had a big day at the plate, driving in two runs.

In the first inning, Claire Cahalan drove in senior Savannah Bedell for the games’ first run on a bunt single. Hatcher then drove in Cahalan with a bunt of her own to make it 2-0 Patriots.

Still leading 2-0 heading into the sixth, the Patriots scored two more runs to put the game away. Hatcher dumped a bloop single into shallow center that scored Cahalan. Kannon Wells drove in the last run of the game with a bunt to make it 4-0.

The Patriots finished the season with a 24-11 record and went a perfect 4-0 at the state championship tournament in Columbus.

West Laurens wins Class AAAA State Championship

The West Laurens softball team claimed its first-ever state championship on Saturday after defeating Whitewater 2-1.

The victory came after losing to Whitewater in the game before, 2-1. Whitewater reached the finals after losing the opening game in the state championship tournament in Columbus before winning five in a row to reach the finals.

The Raiders went 4-1 in Columbus and did so by winning each game by just one run. They defeated Heritage 2-1, Walnut Grove 5-4, Central Carrollton 2-1 and Whitewater 2-1 to win the state title.

West Laurens finishes the season with a 30-4 record.

Wesleyan Wins Class AAA State Championship

From the state championship crown in Class A-Private in 2021 to the state championship crown in Class AAA in 2022, the Wesleyan Wolves softball team proved all season that a major jump in classification wouldn’t deter them from winning it all.

The Wolves rolled through Region 7-AAA, dominated in the Super Regional and went on to defeat Jackson in the state championship finals 3-1 to claim their second straight state championship and first as a member of Class AAA.

“Every year is different and going back-to-back in different classifications is something really special,” Wesleyan head coach Mary Blalock said. “This year is unique in and of itself and I think that it’s different from last year. We had a little bit of a target on our back and took everybody’s best shot in stride and responded really, really well.”

Junior standout Macey Cintron was dominant both in the circle and at the plate for the wolves in the finals against Jackson. She tossed all seven innings while allowing just three hits and one run to pair with four strikeouts. At the plate, she went 2-for-3.

Senior RIley Kutter went 1-for-2 with an RBI, as did Lil Nydam. Alyssa Flood scored two of the three runs in the game for the Wolves.

After reaching the Elite 8 state championship tournament in Columbus, the Wolves opened with a 5-2 win against Jackson. They then defeated Oconee County 10-0 and Gordon Lee 9-0 before defeating Jackson again in the finals.

Blalock gave a lot of credit to Jackcson, who put up the biggest fight by far during their run to a state championship.

“Jackson played a heck of a game today and they are a solid ball club,” Blalock said. “We had an opportunity to fall apart and we came together and we finished it and got it done. I'm just really proud of them."

The Wolves finished the season with a 32-2 record with one of their two losses coming to Class AAAAAAA state champion Buford.

Jeff Davis wins the Class AA State Championship

With a 4-2 win over Mount Paran Christian, the Jeff Davis softball team won its first-ever state championship on Saturday in Columbus.

The Yellowjackets were dominant all season, losing just one time. They won Region 1-AA with ease and went a perfect 4-0 at the state championship tournament in Columbus. They defeated ELCA 3-2 in the opening game in Columbus before defeating Appling County 5-0, and Mount Paran in back-to-back games to win the title. \

Jeff Davis finishes the season with a 34-1 record.

Emanuel County wins the Class A Division 2 State Championship

After opening up their state championship tournament in Columbus with a 3-2 loss to Lanier County, Emanuel County rattled off three straight wins, including back-to-back wins against Lanier to claim the Class A Division 2 State Championship on Saturday.

It’s the program’s first-ever state championship. The Bulldogs finish the season with a 28-6 record.

Heard County wins Class A Division 1 State Championship

The Heard County softball team won its third straight state championship after defeating Social Circle in a close battle 3-2 on Saturday. It’s the program’s fourth state title overall.

The Braves were perfect in Columbus, starting off the tournament by defeating Social Circle 8-1, then defeating Mount Vernon 5-1 and Pepperell 9-1 before beating the Redskins again in the finals.

Heard County finishes the season with a 26-10 record.