Softball: Lady Wolves dominate East Hall for 7-AAA title

GAINESVILLE -- Buford softball centers everything around playing its best at tournament time.

Judging by Thursday's Region 7-AAA championship game, the Lady Wolves are well on track.

Buford dominated East Hall in the title contest at Lanier Point Park in Gainesville, putting up 10 runs in the second inning and blasting three home runs total en route to a 15-0, three-inning victory.

Morgan Walters crushed two of the homers, including a three-run blast in the third inning to highlight 12 hits for Buford. Meanwhile, Bria Bush shut down the Lady Vikings at the plate.

"We're playing with a lot of confidence right now, we're playing loose," Buford coach Tony Wolfe said. "As a coach you can always find things you can do better. But we played really well tonight, and we've played well throughout the year. I hope that bodes well for the state tournament."

Buford (29-1) is gunning for its seventh straight state title -- though Thursday's success represented only the Lady Wolves fifth region title in six seasons.

"The region title is nice, but that kind of reminds us that it doesn't guarantee anything," Wolfe said. "We got hot and won a couple of state championships after not winning region titles, so we know we have to keep getting better even now."

East Hall will enter the state tournament as the second seed from 7-AAA, while Banks County is third and Fannin County fourth.

East Hall will play host to Cartersville in the first round on Wednesday in a best-of-three series, while Banks will travel to North Murray and Fannin heads to Ringgold. Buford will play host to Sonoraville -- a steep task for the visitors, especially considering the Lady Wolves' performance on Thursday.

Bush (12-1) was almost un-hittable, allowing just one Lady Viking base knock -- a single by Josie Coker in the second inning -- while pitching her eighth shutout of the season.

Buford's offense, meanwhile, needed an inning to get going but found its stride in the second, starting with Walters' first homer of the night -- a solo shot to left field to lead the frame. The run started a feeding frenzy, as Buford loaded the bases with no outs. Niki Cook and Remington Hasty each followed with RBI drives before Walters drove in another run in the inning, setting the stage for another big hit -- this one from Noah Sudderth, who lifted a three-run home run to cap a 10-run inning.

"Morgan had a really big tournament," Wolfe said. "She had three doubles on Wednesday; she's a pretty amazing hitter, and she's a great student of the game. No one plays harder on this team, and it's great to see her do so well."

Tessa Daniels made it 11-0 in the third inning on an RBI single before Walters capped a huge night with a three-run shot. Alexus Murray ended the game with an RBI single.

Walters finished 2-for-3 with five RBI and three runs scored, while Sudderth chipped in with three RBI and two runs scored. Daniels also went 2-for-3 with a double, RBI and two runs score, while Hasty was 2-for-3 with an and a run scored.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2013/10/266608