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For the first time since 2020, the LaGrange softball team is headed to the big dance. The Grangers punched their ticket to the eight-team 3A state tournament in Columbus with a nail-biting 4-3 win in game three of the Sweet 16 against North Hall on Friday.

It was a dramatic ending to a high-level Sweet 16 matchup as the Grangers got to be the ones that threw their gloves to the sky after the final out.

 

GAME 3:

LaGrange – 4

North Hall – 3

 

The Grangers were able to capture an early lead when Tatum Nation laid down a picture-perfect bunt that drove Hudson Wood home in the second inning.

The game would stay locked at 1-0 until both sets of batters spring to life in the fourth inning. It was the Granger bats that did the damage first, driving in three runs to take a 4-0 lead. Jasia Swanson hit a one-run double to drive home the first run of the inning. An error allowed a second run in the inning to score before Dakota McDaniel delivered what would be the winning RBI.

It was a special series for McDaniel, just a freshman, who threw a no-hitter in game one before pitching a complete game in game three to go alongside her winning RBI.

After LaGrange went up 4-0, the Trojans had an instant response, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fourth to cut the LaGrange lead to just one run. 

From there, the Granger defense settled down and never allowed the Trojans to get the tying run close to home. 

Senior Abby McGill led the offense with poise and confidence, generating half (3) of LaGrange’a total hits in the game. Swanson, McDaniel and Carolyne Garcia all had a hit apiece to round out the offense for the Grangers. 

 

WHAT’S NEXT:

LaGrange will play LaFayette next Wednesday at 11 a.m. to start their journey in the 3A state tournament in Columbus.

 

GAME ONE:

LaGrange – 1

North Hall – 0

 

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:

LaGrange – 1

North Hall – 11

 

The Grangers could not match their game one effort in game two, falling 8-1 to force a winner-take-all game three.

The Trojans jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the fourth inning and never looked back from there. North Hall would tack on three more runs to its lead in the top of the fifth inning.

The Grangers attempted to start a rally in the fifth inning, but squandered a real chance to get back in the game as they had the bases loaded with no outs and came away with no runs.

North Hall would make it 8-0 with a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning.

The Grangers finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth inning courtesy of a solo homer from Carolyne Garcia. 

The Trojans put the game to rest with three runs in the top of the seventh inning

It was just not LaGrange’s day on offense. The team put together just four hits in the game and five hits total across the two games. The Grangers will need more from their offense if they are to punch their ticket to Columbus.

Taylor, Garcia, McDaniel and Addyson Arnett all had a hit apiece for the Grangers in game two.

McDaniel started in the circle for game two as well, allowing her first hit of the day in the top of the third inning. She pitched 41/3 innings before making way for senior Zoe Thompson, who pitched the rest of the game.