Lady Cats split tourney games Tuesday, head to Class AAAAA state playoffs as No. 3 seed

The Woodland softball team split games Tuesday at the Region 7-AAAAA playoffs to secure a No. 3 seed in the upcoming Class AAAAA state playoffs.

The Lady Cats defeated Kell in the opener Tuesday 13-2. The loss eliminated Kell from the region playoffs and landed the Lady Longhorns as the No. 4 seed.

Woodland then fell to Villa Rica in the nightcap, 7-4. The loss to Villa Rica landed Woodland as the region’s No. 3 seed. Villa Rica and Carrollton will play for the region title and will hold the top two seeds in the state playoffs.

The Lady Cats rolled up 13 unanswered runs in their first four offensive frames against Kell. The Longhorns managed only a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth.

Sarah Baynard was once again the winning pitcher for Woodland. She allowed only four hits and a walk in five innings in the circle. Only one run was earned and she recorded one strikeout.

Skylar Chappell was 3-for-4 with a double and four RBIs in the win. Jordan Duck also doubled in a 2-for-3 performance that included two RBIs. Caroline Higdon, Brittney Cox, and Emma Jordan all drove in two Woodland runs and had a hit apiece. Madgie Robinson and Audrey Morris also contributed base hits.

In the nightcap, Villa Rica posted seven runs over the first four innings.

Woodland rallied for four runs in the top of the sixth, but would get no closer.

Reagan Gunter, Baylee Walls, Izzy Rohr, and Marley Couch combined for eight of Villa Rica’s 12 hits and totaled four of the team’s RBIs.

Bella Carnes (two singles) and Jamison Kilgo (homerun, single) had two hits each to lead Woodland in the loss. Higdon (RBI) and Jordan (RBI) had the other hits for the locals.

Woodland (13-19) will open the state playoffs on the road Wednesday, October 12 with a doubleheader against the No. 2 seed from Region 5-AAAAA. If a third game is needed in the best-of-three series, it would also be played at the Region 5-AAAAA runner-up site on Thursday, October 13.