Ola may have eliminated the Starr’s Mill softball team in the first round of the AAAAA GHSA state playoffs, but the Lady Panthers did not fall without a fight. The first game resulted in a 12-3 loss for the Lady Panthers, but the second game showed a stronger fight with Starr’s Mill losing 6-5.

“In the first game, we didn’t come out mentally ready to play and we threw the ball all over the field,” head coach Mark Williamson said. “The second game we competed, we played well.”

In the first game, the Lady Panthers made most of the defensive plays in the field. The Mustangs batters connected with the ball in almost every at bat, and very few strike outs occurred. However, the Lady Panthers struggled to hit the ball as it was thrown their way.

The first inning set the tone for the game with only one batter, freshman Lauren Flanders, getting on base, but was walked rather than getting a hit. The second inning came with more success at bat, but all of the hits resulted in an out on base.

“Overall, I think we did great. As the season went on we gelled together better in the field and hitting and we got a a lot better than we were day one,” senior Jordan Childress said. “It’s sad that it’s over, but overall I think we did great.”

The second inning for the Lady Panthers included Childress getting walked to first and a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Paige Andrews moving Childress to second. Seniors Emily Nieuwstraten and Kennedy Dennis both hit pop flies into the outfield that resulted in the last two outs of the inning.

Ola showed their offensive prowess in the top of the third inning with a three-run homerun. Starr’s Mill could not respond to the pressure, going three-up, three-down in bottom of the inning.  All three Lady Panther batters struck out.

The fourth inning brought more success to the Lady Panthers with juniors Kate Ashmore and Laura Sellers as well as Andrews getting on base. As Andrews ran to first, Ashmore scored the first run for the Lady Panthers sliding into home.

“I think in the first game when I had that base hit…was pretty good,” Flanders said. “I had gotten the pitching down.”

The stride of the Lady Panthers continued in the fifth inning where two runners made it into home off of one hit. Ashmore hit a ball straight into the outfield, and allowed juniors Wakana Sato and Lea Duben to score.

The sixth inning brought no success to the Mill, but on the Mustang side, much success was granted. Starr’s Mill brought in senior Abbey Brady to replace Andrews in the sixth. However, Ola hit almost every at bat. To make the inning more difficult, the Lady Panthers dropped nearly every ball thrown their way.

“We definitely could have done better,” Flanders said. “I think we just got caught up in the moment and we should’ve taken it one game at a time instead of trying to win the whole thing.”

The first game easily went in favor of the Mustangs 12-3.

The Lady Panthers showed their strength in the second game by keeping the Mustangs below them until the end. In the first inning, the Lady Panthers started out strong with Duben, Ashmore, Childress, Andrews, and junior Alyssa Angelo all making it on base.

Duben was the first on base, but got out trying to steal as Ashmore was at bat. Ashmore made it to first base, and Childress hit Ashmore in for the first run of the game. A single by Andrews scored Childress, adding another run. Then, Angelo hit a double, but Andrews had to stop at third right before the last out for the inning occurred.

“The most proud [I] was when we competed. The first game was not the best game, but in the second game we came back with the will to win,” Childress said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way, but that’s what I loved, that we didn’t stop fighting.”

The bottom of the first quickly led to the top of the second with three batters up and three batters down. Starr’s Mill struggled to gain any points in the second inning, with two players tagged out at first, and Flanders being tagged out attempting to steal second.

The third inning started off with Duben making it to first off of her hit, and stole second during Childress’ at bat. Duben ran into home when Childress hit. When Andrews hit, she made it safe at first and Childress made it to third.

Angelo got out at first, with Andrews advancing to second, and Robertson hit Childress into home, Andrews gets to third and Robertson stopped at second. Freshman Jolie Lester hit the ball and got out at first to get the last out of the game.

The Lady Panthers struggled to score once again in the fourth inning, but Sato, Flanders, and Duben got on base. On the other hand, in the bottom of the fourth, the Mustangs scored two runs.

“There’s a lot of underclassmen and juniors who are going to be seniors who will do great things in high school and in life,” Childress said. “I’m sad because it’s over, but I’m not leaving it into bad hands.”

The top of the fifth didn’t yield any more runs, but Andrews was hit by a ball and Robertson walked to first. Ola scored once again in the bottom of the fifth, but the Lady Panthers stopped the next runner.

The Mill picked back up in the sixth inning with Andrews hitting in Duben as the fifth hitter of the inning. Duben walked to get on base and then made it safely to third as Childress hits the ball and then Andrews hits to send her in. The mustangs also were successful in the sixth inning with a homerun hit and a runner on base.

In the last inning of the night, Lester was the only runner to make it on base, and the game ended in a 6-5 loss for the Mill.

“For next year, I think we just need to keep practicing and work together as a team,” Flanders said.

McIntosh and Whitewater from region 3-AAAAA also lost in the first round of state playoffs. The Chiefs lost 6-1 in the first game against Jones County and were also defeated in the second game 15-0. Jones County advances to play South Effingham in the second round. The Wildcats also lost to Union Grove 6-1 in the first game, and lost again 4-3. In the second round, Union Grove advances to play Harris County.