The Columbia Academy Lady Cougars punched their tickets to the State Tournament on Saturday in Brookhaven by finishing fourth in the MAIS South State Tournament, claiming wins over Natchez Cathedral and Silliman Institute to keep their season alive.
The Lady Cougars matched up with Cathedral, the No. 2 seed from District 3, in the first round and came away with a 3-1 victory powered by a three-run homer hit by Molly Sistrunk and a complete game pitched by Macie Branch. In Round 2, they faced a familar foe, Brookhaven Academy, and grabbed an early lead but were unable to maintain it for seven innings, ultimately falling in a 5-2 loss. Head coach Kyle Wilks said fatigue was an issue throughout the day for the Lady Cougars, but he was proud of the way they continued battling back in the face of adversity.
"It was really hot on Saturday, and three of our games were played back-to-back-to-back," Wilks said. "Any time you play 21 straight innings, you're going to get a little worn out. But our girls kept fighting. We knew we needed a second win to reach the state tournament, and fortunately we were able to do just that."
CA took on Silliman in its third contest of the evening. Entering the sixth inning tied 3-3, the Lady Cougars' bats came alive, racking up seven runs to pull away and secure a 10-3 victory. Although their bid to win the South State tournament was cut short by a 12-9 loss to Oak Forest Academy later that night, Wilks said he and his players are both proud and excited to have an opportunity to compete for an even bigger prize next weekend in Magee.
"We would've loved to keep competing on Monday and win South State, but our ultimate goal was to punch our ticket to the big one next weekend," Wilks said. "I was proud of the way our girls fought, not just over the weekend but all season long to reach this point. We have a really young team, and we still make rookie mistakes here and there, but these girls have grown a lot over the course of the season, and their confidence is growing as a result."
Eight teams from across the state advanced to the double elimination tournament, which will take place on Saturday and Monday at the Magee Sportsplex. The top four teams from Saturday's contests will meet again Monday afternoon to determine who will take home the MAIS 5A State Championship. CA's first matchup will be at noon Saturday against East Rankin Academy. Wilks said that regardless of the outcome, he's excited to see his team continue to make strides and build off this momentum as they carry forward.
"Win or lose, it's quite the accomplishment for these girls to have battled their way into this tournament," Wilks said. "A lot of these girls are going to be here with us for years to come, and I think it's safe to say that, no matter what happens on Saturday, we've got a really bright future ahead of us."
