BUFORD — Freshman Caroline Stanton set a new program record with 19 strikeouts and led Class 7A No. 1 Buford to a thrilling 4-2 win over Mill Creek on Tuesday at the Buford Softball Complex.
The win also clinched the Region 8-7A title for the Lady Wolves (21-0, 12-0 Region 8-7A). Buford also will now be one of the host sites for the upcoming Super Regionals to be played on October 20-21.
Stanton (6-0) went the distance scattering five hits and walked just one for Buford. Stanton broke the old school record for single-game strikeouts held by Karly Fullem in 2009, who had 18 against Sonoraville.
The Lady Hawks got a fielder's choice out in the fourth and a pop fly caught by first baseman Adriana Martinez in the sixth as the only two outs not by strikeout.
Buford took the lead in the second on a sacrifice fly from senior Emma Castorri. The Lady Wolves got two in third when sophomore Kylie Gower doubled to center and scored on a Tavye Borders RBI single. Borders later scored on a RBI groundout by Mackenzie Pickens.
Buford made it 4-0 in the fifth on a scorching line drive double by Mackenzie Pickens scoring Borders.
Mill Creek (15-8, 7-4 Region 8-7A) pulled within striking distance in the sixth with a pair of runs on a RBI triple from Aria Davis and a RBI single from Lindsay Kline. They had the tying run at the plate with two outs but Stanton got out of the jam with a pop to first and then struck out the side in the seventh to preserve the win.
The Lady Wolves next will host Central Gwinnett on Wednesday in another region contest on Senior Night.
EAST FORSYTH 13,
EAST HALL 1
The Lady Broncos secured the No. 2 seed in Region 8-4A and a home playoff series with a five-inning win on the road.
East Forsyth (17-9, 14-2 Region 8-4A) opened with four runs in the first and exploded for six runs in the fifth to put it out of reach.
Cadence Alberty got the win for East Forsyth tossing a two-hitter while striking out 8. Alberty also went 2-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBI at the plate. Ava Cowart, Emma Smallwood and Emily Hutcheson each had three hits for the Lady Broncos.
Amari Burce took the loss for East Hall.
Elvie Armour and Ansley Ivey had the two hits for East Hall.
NORTH HALL 15-15,
CEDAR SHOALS 0-2
The Lady Trojans pulled to within one game of fourth place in Region 8-4A with a dominating sweep on the road.
The wins ran North Hall’s (13-10, 8-8 Region 8-4A) win streak to four and tied them with Cherokee Bluff (10-13, 8-8 Region 8-4A) and just one game behind Madison County (14-12, 9-7 Region 8-4A) with two games remaining in the regular season.
North Hall travels to Madison County on Thursday with a chance to jump into fourth place. The Lady Trojans won their first meeting with the Lady Red Raiders last month, 2-1 at home and a win would sweep the season series and give them the all-important tiebreaker.
Against Cedar Shoals, Mac Taylor got the win in the first game and Emily Hlavacek got the win in the second game with Peyton Prater pitching the back end of both games to preserve the victories.
In the opening game, Genesis Satterfield was 3-for-4, including a home run, and Kristina Peach was 3-for-4, including a double and a triple. Mia Swords was 2-for-3 with a double and 2 RBI for the Lady Trojans.
In Game 2, Annabeth Gilleland was 2-for-3 with a triple and 3 RBI and Peach had another big game with three more hits and 2 RBI for North Hall.
