Title quest continues for area softball teams

BUFORD -- After the first round preliminaries, now the real work begins for girls softball teams around the state in their quest for a state title.

Most area coaches will tell you that the weeding out of challengers takes place in the opening round and doesn't heat up until the Sweet 16. Nowhere are they more right than in Class AA, where all 10 of the GACA Coaches poll top ranked teams are still alive, including two from northeast Georgia.

Top on that list is three-time defending state champion Buford, along with second-ranked Union County. Both teams are riding high coming into their second round match-ups and both are expecting a challenge.

Buford will play host to No. 10 Dade County while Union County will play host to Rockmart. Both best-of-three series will begin at 4 p.m. Wednesday with two games. A third game, if necessary, will be at 5 p.m. Thursday.

While Buford has dominated all season, and currently owns a 14-game win streak, no team in the state is hotter than Union County, which sports a 23-game win streak. The Lady Panthers' only loss was to No. 1 Buford, 3-2, on Aug. 27 at home. Rockmart (26-7), meanwhile, whipped Callaway in the first round (11-0 and 8-0) and is no stranger to the playoffs. The Lady Yellow Jackets lost to Buford in last year's state title game.

Union County coach Jessica Stewart said they have been building to this point after advancing to the Elite Eight twice in the last four years.

"We're playing the best I've seen us in my five years here, but we came into this season with the goal of winning the state title," Stewart said. "We have the pitching, and I feel we can score runs against anyone. We just have to stay focused. Rockmart is tough. They played for the title last year so we know we have our hands full."

The Lady Panthers (26-1-1) dominated Lovett in the first round (9-0 and 8-0) behind Angie Hughes, who is averaging 14 strikeouts a game in the circle.

For Buford, meanwhile, coach Tony Wolfe also feels like he has another championship-caliber team. The Lady Wolves (26-4) average .330 at the plate and have two pitchers in Melissa Dickie (1.25 ERA) and Karly Fullem (0.84 ERA) that can shut down any lineup.

"We have a team that can hit, but hitting is like the Dow Jones -- it goes up and down," he said. "Pitching and defense are our constants, and we feel like both Melissa and Karly are as good a one-two punch as there is in the state. I expect to see better pitching, so finding ways to score will be key."

In Class AAA, White County is already in uncharted territory. The Lady Warriors (24-6) have never advanced past the first round of the postseason and face a tough St. Pius (24-9-1) squad that is seeing its first playoff action since 2008.

White County coach John Brown said he expects his team to play like it has most of the season. The Lady Warriors sport a staggering .364 team batting average and have two solid pitchers in Stephanie Satterfield and Callie McDonald.

Satterfield is also having a record-setting year at the plate. The senior has hit a school-record 11 home runs already this season and sits just five shy of the all-time state record for home runs in a season -- set by Central, Carroll's Nicole Yancey (2006) and tied by Jenny Shepherd of Evans in 2008.

"Our offense is the key for us," Brown said. "Our pitching is above average and our defense is pretty good. But we know we have to score runs to win. Stephanie obviously has to have a good series for us. She has led us all year and we need her to have another good series."

Against Carrollton in the first round, the Lady Warriors pounded the Lady Trojans for 31 runs on 30 hits, including a whopping eight home runs. Satterfield and McDonald allowed just five total hits in the two games. Brown said he doesn't expect to put up those kinds of numbers the rest of the way.

"St. Pius is very similar to us in pitching so runs should be a little harder to come by," he said. "However, the pitchers to really stop us have been those really dominant hard-throwers and they don't have one of those so I feel good that we can score some runs."

In Class AAAA, the lone northeast Georgia team left standing is Habersham Central. The Lady Raiders (20-8) are making the most of their first-ever playoff appearance after dispatching Chamblee in two games, 7-0 and 15-0 at home.

The road gets tougher as they travel to No. 2-ranked Creekview (27-8). Habersham has had a roller coaster season. The Lady Raiders opened by winning nine of their first 10 games but then went 5-5 in their next 10 games. They are on another role now having won six of their last eight to advance to the Sweet 16. they also knocked off No. 1 Madison County earlier in the season.

Creekview is equally hot having won 12 of its last 13, with its only loss coming to Pope is their best-of-three series for the Region 5-AAAA title.

CLASS AA NOTES: All top 10 team ranked teams still alive in playoffs... At least two ranked teams will fall in Sweet 16... Key second round matchups: No. 1 Buford vs. No. 10 Dade Co; No. 4 North Oconee vs. No. 8 Calhoun; No. 2 Union County vs. Rockmart.

DADE COUNTY at BUFORD: Games 1 and 2, 4 p.m. Wednesday; Game 3, if necessary, 5 p.m. Thursday. ... Buford has won 14 straight; Dade County is 10-4 over the same stretch. ... Buford is a three-time defending state champ
-- COMMON OPPONENT: Whitewater (Dade won 3-2 on Sept. 11; Buford won 11-2 on Sept. 15)

ROCKMART at UNION COUNTY: Games 1 and 2, 4 p.m. Wednesday; Game 3, if necessary, 5 p.m. Thursday... Union has won 23 straight; last loss was to No. 1 Buford 3-2 on Aug. 27... Rockmart has won 10 of its last 12; back-to-back losses to No. 3 Lakeview-Ft Oglethorpe and No. 10 Dade County in Region 7-AA tourney... Rockmart is coming off a year where they lost to Buford in the Class AA title game in 2009... Union has allowed just five total runs in last 10 games with eight shutouts

CLASS AAA NOTES: Nine of top 10 ranked teams still alive. Only defending state champ Columbus is out... Three Region 8-AAA teams still alive (White County, Oconee County, Walnut Grove)... Key second round matchups: No. 2 Heritage, Catoosa vs. No. 4 Walnut Grove; No. 6 White County vs. No. 10 St. Pius; No. 1 Oconee vs. No. 7 Allatoona

WHITE COUNTY at ST. PIUS: Games 1 and 2, 2 p.m. Wednesday; Game 3, if necessary, Thursday TBA... St. Pius riding 12-game win streak (averaging. 10 rpg during streak)... White County 16-3 in last 19 games (only losses to Class AA No. 2 Union Co 5-0, No. 4 Walnut Grove 8-5, and No. 1 Oconee 8-0 in Region 8-AAA title game)... White is averaging nearly 9 rpg in last 19 games with 11 shutouts by pitchers.

CLASS AAAA

HABERSHAM CENTRAL (20-8) at No. 2 CREEKVIEW (27-8): Games 1 and 2, 5:30 p.m. Wednesday; Game 3, if necessary, 6 p.m. Thursday.