WALNUT GROVE — Buford captured its 11th region title in 18 years with an impressive 8-1 victory over host Walnut Grove in the Region 8-5A championship on Thursday.
Senior Ansleigh Hollifield was a one-person wrecking crew, both in the circle and at the plate. Hollifield tossed a complete-game, three-hitter, allowing just one run and fanned nine. At the plate, she went 3-for-4 with three doubles and 7 RBI.
Sophomore Shamya Young also had a big night at the plate with three hits and two runs scored.
For the tournament Hollifield was outstanding pounding out seven hits, including a home run, and drove in nine runs. In the circle, she earned all three of the Wolves' victories -- one in relief, two as a starter -- and struck out 22 batters in 14 1/3 innings.
In the championship game, Buford (18-9) plated a run in the first and added three more in the third. After the Lady warriors cut the lead to 4-1 in the fifth, the Lady Wolves responded with four in the sixth to put the game out of reach.
The Lady Wolves will take the No. 1 seed from Region 8-5A into next week's Class 5A state tournament. The first round will begin on Wednesday with doubleheader at the Buford Softball Complex in a best 2-out-of-3 format. Game 3, if necessary, is set for Thursday. Opponent and times are TBD.
