GAINESVILLE - With "chaos everywhere and the ball being thrown all over the place," Chestatee girls softball coach Devin Thomas decided to send Brooke Puckett home with the tying run against Class AAA No. 4 Pickens County Tuesday.
Puckett was gunned at the plate during a wild play at third base with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, preserving a 3-2 win for the Lady Dragons in the Region 7-AAA finale for both teams.
"I wasn't sure if we would get that next hit so I waved her around. They just made a great throw to get her. It was an exciting finish," Thomas said.
With Chestatee (12-7, 7-3) trailing 3-1 with two outs, Taylor Burke drove in a run and the Pickens catcher then tried to pick Burkett off third. But the throw sailed into left field and Thomas waved Puckett home. The throw narrowly beat her to the plate and Pickens' star pitcher Whitney Propes tagged Puckett out at the plate to end the game.
"I was just thinking that with everything that was going on they had to make two good plays to get her out. They did," Thomas said.
The War Eagles managed six hits off Propes and Chestatee starter Sara Applegarth only allowed six hits.
The game was 1-0 Pickens heading into the seventh inning, but an error led to two unearned runs to push the lead to 3-0.
With the win, Pickens (17-6, 9-1) finishes second in the region while Chestatee, the defending region champ, dropped to fourth behind Flowery Branch, which beat Johnson Tuesday.
Thomas said he still feels good about their chances to repeat.
"We had one bad game this year (a 9-0 loss to North Hall) and then had one play that cost us this game," he said. "I still feel like we have the best team. We're really looking forward to (the region tournament) next week."
Friday
December 27th, 2024
11:15PM
