It’s going to be a sweet, sweet Thursday for the LaGrange softball team. The Grangers will hit the road bright and early to head to North Hall for a sweet 16 playoff series. 

On paper, the teams are pretty evenly matched with the Grangers earning the 12th overall seed and the Trojans being named the 5th seed. The two share no common opponents, so this matchup will be a complete unknown. 

The Trojans earned two mercy rule wins (15-0, 15-0) over Howard in the first round. It was practically the same story for LaGrange as the team mercy ruled Mt. Zion, Jonesboro in both games in the first round, 17-0 and 19-1. 

LaGrange sits at 20-11 on the season and North Hall at 21-9. The Trojans and the Grangers both fell in the 4A state super regional finals last year, the equivalent of the sweet 16 in the reformatted playoffs this season. 

The Grangers are not led by a single player but rather a collective group. The team has 13 seniors and all play an instrumental role on and off the field.

One senior that has taken a big leap forward as both a leader and a player is Carolyne Garcia. The senior hit .428 in the regular season with six home runs and a team-leading 34 RBIs. The starting first baseman will apply her craft at Southern Union next season.

LaGrange came into the season with incredible depth but unfortunately the team will be shorthanded the rest of the way. Kimberley Reynolds, a Southwestern commit, would be the starter at third base if she was healthy, but shoulder surgery will keep her out the entire playoff run. Junior Shelby Siggers has been filling the role at third base and has been more than up to the task, but leaves the bench with limited depth. 

Depth has been aided by the emergence of junior Ta’Niya Taylor, a utility player that can slide into the starting lineup wherever necessary, can pinch hit and pinch run as well. Taylor hit .400 during the regular season.

Another key player that figured to be a depth piece but has been thrust into a starting role is senior Addyson Arnett. She rarely gets to hit, but her defense in the outfield has been crucial, including in the first round of the state playoffs. 

Jasia Swanson gets on base at a clip above .400 and has shown a tremendous ability to run the bases, leading the team with 20 stolen bases. 

Freshman Dakota McDaniel got the start in the circle in game one and senior Zoe Thompson got the start in game two of the first round. Expect McDaniel to start game one with the outcome of that game likely influencing who starts in game two. McDaniel leads the staff with a 2.27 ERA and has over 100 strikeouts to her name on the season. 

Seniors Tatiana Dudley and Abby McGill will start in the middle of the infield as will Tatum Nation at catcher. Hudson Wood will start in the outfield and bring some pop to the lineup. Wood is second on the team with four home runs this season, including one that lifted the Grangers to a late win over rival Troup at home during the regular season.

Home runs come from up and down the lineup and the Grangers had two different girls hit grand slams in the opening round, McGill and Clary Anne Adcock. The latter has emerged as a quality depth piece and the junior should be in line to start next season.

The first game starts at 2 p.m. with game 2 commencing shortly after the conclusion of the opener. A potential game three would be played Friday at 3 p.m. The winner of this series will play in the 3A state tournament featuring the top eight teams in the state in Columbus next week. The last time LaGrange made it to Columbus was 2020 when the team finished fourth in the state.