Five days after claiming the program’s first-ever South State title, the Lady Cougars punched their ticket Saturday to the Class 3A State Championship series with back-to-back wins. Columbia Academy is set to take on Tri-County Academy in a three-game series for the title that starts Tuesday night.
The Lady Cougars (22-11-1) went into the 3A tournament as the No. 1 seed from the South, which earned them a bye. All they needed was two wins to make it out of the bracket, but it didn’t come easy.
CA started the tournament in Magee Saturday against Tri-County, which was the North State runner-up. The Lady Cougars controlled the action through the first six innings and entered the final frame with a 5-3 lead.
Following an error, strikeout, bunt and a popout, CA needed just one more out to end the game while Tri-County was looking to extend the game with the tying run on first base. It was the Lady Rebels that came through in the clutch, though, as they singled then tripled to plate three runs and take a 6-5 lead. With CA failing to score in the bottom half of the seventh, Tri-County won to drop the Lady Cougars into the losers’ bracket.
With their backs against the wall and one loss away from elimination, the Lady Cougars had a stiff challenge against reigning state champ Marshall Academy. But CA dominated as Lola Todd threw a complete-game shutout, singled twice, scored twice and drove in a run to lead the Lady Cougars to a 6-0 victory. Kate Fortenberry (triple) and Macie Wilks each had a pair of hits and 2 RBI to pace the CA offense.
Then, with the right to go to state on the line, the right arm of Macey Branch and the thunderous bat of Molly Sistrunk led the Lady Cougars to a 4-0 victory over Amite School Center. Branch matched Todd’s performance with a complete-game shutout, and Sistrunk came through in the clutch with a three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning to seal the deal.
“They fought back after the loss,” CA head coach Kyle Wilks said. “We played really well against Tri-County in that first game. They just got a hit in the seventh with runners on. We couldn't put it away. But then we bounced back and beat Marshall and ASC, didn't allow any runs. Lola Todd and Macey Branch did great on the mound for us. That's kind of who this bunch is — they don't give up. They put it together and played really well Saturday.”
To pave its way to the title series, Tri-County beat ASC 6-1 after rallying to beat CA in the matinee.
Throughout the regular season, the Lady Cougars seemed like a team that was better than their record and were just a few clutch hits away from winning several more games. They have been getting those hits in the postseason, which has allowed them to have everything clicking at the right time.
“I knew what they were capable of, and we just started all putting it together here at South State and then continued over into state,” Wilks said. “These girls have been here before. They're veterans as far as experience goes, and I felt like they knew when it was time to get it together. We put together some really good games.”
Columbia Academy and Tri-County have squared off twice this season, splitting the games, and the matchup has all the makings of an evenly-matched series.
“I think we're very similar. I think, for us, the key is we're going to have to continue to pitch well and defend,” Wilks explained. “We need to have the big inning. I've said all year the goal is to get to 10 runs a game, even eight would be huge. If we could score eight — we're going to give up a couple of runs here and there, that's just part of it — but if we can swing the bats like we have been the last few games, I think we've got a good shot.”
With the Lady Cougars just two wins away from claiming the program’s first-ever state title, Wilks said it would be huge if they are able to make history this week.
“It's never been done in softball,” he said. “To be in this position, it's exciting for this group and the program itself. It's been a good season. The girls have done really well. I'm super proud of them and what they've accomplished this year. Hopefully we've got a couple more wins in us, and we can do what we started out to do all season long.”
The series begins Tuesday night at 6 at Tri-County in Flora and will be at The Yards Wednesday at 6 p.m. Game 3, if necessary, will be at Tri-County on Saturday at a to-be-determined time.
