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How ‘bout them Grangers? The LaGrange softball team is one win away from a trip to Columbus of the eight-team 3A state tournament. The Grangers eked out a 1-0 win over North Hall in game one of the Sweet 16 on Thursday.

Offense was hard to come by for both teams, especially in the early goings as the teams combined for just one hit in the first five innings.

The closest a team came to scoring in that span was in the top of the second inning when LaGrange advanced runners to second and third with two outs, but could not find a way to break the deadlock.

The Grangers would eventually take the lead when Hudson Wood reached on an error in the sixth inning. She proceeded to steal second and was advanced to third by a Ta’Niya Taylor groundout and then eventually scored on a passed ball.

Freshman Dakota McDaniel got the start in the circle and was simply magnificent, pitching a no-hitter in which she struck out a whopping 11 batters and allowed just three walks, stifling the Trojan offense every chance she got. The freshman phenom has allowed just one hit across two playoff starts this season. 

The Grangers could muster just two hits in the game, a single from Abby McGill and a double from Carolyne Garcia, but were also able to reach bases in other ways which proved to be the difference in game one.

Game two will start at roughly 4:17 p.m. If the Grangers win game two they will advance to Columbus for the first time since 2020. A Trojan win in game two will force a winner-take-all game three at 3 p.m. on Friday.