Macon teams face quick tests at GHSA softball Elite Eight
Stratford softball head coach Jeff Treadway’s approach to the first day of the GHSA Elite Eight is quite simple.
“Well, we just hope they don’t beat us three times this year,” said Treadway of Tattnall Square, whom the Eagles will face at 4 p.m. on Thursday at the Columbus Softball Complex. “They’re a great team. Joey (Hiller) does a great job. They are a good defensive team, swing the bats well, and they pitch well, too. It’s going to be a great game, and hopefully we’ll get them on the third try.”
There’s no easing into the eight-team, double-elimination Class 1A private school bracket for any of the three Macon teams that made it this far. Then again, the Eagles, Trojans and FPD’s Vikings all punched their tickets to Columbus for the third straight season, so taking the field for the big event is nothing new.
Tattnall beat Stratford 12-3 and 9-1 during the regular season, but the Trojans are still looking for their first win in Columbus after back-to-back 0-2 appearances.
FPD, meanwhile, will open at 8 p.m. on Thursday against Eagle’s Landing Christian, last year’s Class 1A private school champion.
While there are big games early, the tournament isn’t a sprint. Stratford and Tattnall match up with Mount Pisgah and Wesleyan in Friday’s second round, both in the winners’ bracket and the elimination bracket, while FPD and ELCA will face either Christian Heritage or Athens Christian.
“We just need to play ball and not think about it too much because it gets complicated,” Tattnall infielder Allie Gordon said. “We just have to go out there, have fun and not make as many mistakes and work hard at it.”
FPD entered the postseason as the No. 1 team in the Class 1A private school power ratings, although the Vikings did not have the top seed in the bracket because GMC won the Region 7-1A tournament.
The Vikings (27-5) had a bit of a slow start in their playoff series with Holy Innocents, dropping the opener before posting a pair of shutouts to advance.
Tattnall (23-7) finished with the No. 3 power rating behind Wesleyan after falling to GMC in the quarterfinals of the region tournament. The Trojans had a couple of nailbiters in their playoff series with Darlington, prevailing 4-3 and 6-5.
The Trojans opened last year’s Elite Eight with a 7-1 loss to FPD and then fell 7-5 to Calvary Day.
“We’re bringing a pretty inexperienced team, but after losing six starters off of last year’s team, we feel fortunate to be in Columbus again,” Hiller said. “We’re just going to go over there and put our best foot forward.”
Stratford (21-5), the defending runner-up in Class 1A private school play, had the No. 4 power rating and wound up having the easiest path to Columbus, defeating Brookstone 9-1 and 6-1.
Last year, Stratford beat FPD 4-1 in the final elimination bracket game before falling to ELCA 8-0 in the championship contest. The Eagles took the long route through the elimination bracket, losing 2-1 to Prince Avenue Christian in the opening round before defeating Christian Heritage and Brookstone and taking out Prince Avenue and FPD.
“We had a fifth-place finish; we had a second-place finish,” Treadway said. “We just want to keep getting better. We’re hoping to win this thing this year.
“We’re a little bit better team this year because we’re better defensively, and we’re swinging the bats well. I kind of feel that we have a better club going into this year.”
In other action Thursday involving Middle Georgia programs, GMC’s bid to repeat as Class 1A public school champion begins at 6 p.m. against Bowdon. In Class 2A, Dodge County opens at 4 p.m. against Vidalia.
With the GHSA expanding to eight championship brackets, the tournament schedule has been revised. Second-round winners’ bracket games have been moved to Friday morning, while the final winners’ bracket game will now be played Saturday morning.
Initial championship games for all classifications will take place at 3 p.m. on Saturday, with second championship games, if necessary, slated for 5 p.m.
This story was originally published October 25, 2016 at 6:41 PM with the headline "Macon teams face quick tests at GHSA softball Elite Eight."