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Blue Tide blast SEB to capture region crown
blue tide region title
On the front row, left to right, are: front row l-r: Hollie Filkins, Reese Davis, Mackenzie Crews, Rilyn Williams, Miley Maulden, Hollan Clark, Catherine Sikes, and Maddi Brannen; back row, Mackenzie Leming, Jersey Lester, Gracie Wingate, Lana Lewis, Sophia Brewster, Emersyn Hall, Alyssa Skipper, Riley Bierbrodt, Mallory Skipper, Skiley Maulden, Demi Wasdin, Kaydence Hardesty, and Kinslee Chapman.

It was a night of celebration for the Long County Lady Blue Tide softball team as they hosted the Southeast Bulloch Yellow Jackets for their final home region game of the season on Thursday, September 24. It was a battle early, but the Tide pulled away at the midpoint of the game to win 8-0.

The teams went back and forth early with neither team crossing the plate for the first three innings. The Tide hit into back-to-back double plays to end the first and second innings while MK Crews made a great throw to second base for the last out in the second inning.

Finally, in the fourth inning, the Tide got something going. Yaya Sikes led off with a single before Crews moved her to third with a double. Hollan Clark brought her fellow sophomores home with a double to give the Tide a 2-0 lead.

Clark advanced to third before Lana Lewis brought her home on a sacrifice RBI. Jersi Lester singled and a Rilyn Williams single eventually brought her home to give the Tide a 4-0 lead going into the fifth inning.

The Jackets looked to have some life as they loaded the bases with just one out on the board, which came off Gracie Wingate’s fourth strikeout of the night.

The Jackets grounded into an out at home before a pop fly ended the inning as the Tide kept the Jackets off the scoreboard.

Sikes got things started again for the Tide with another single before Crews moved her around to third with a double.

In a bit of deja vu, Clark scored both her teammates with another two-run double, bringing her to four RBIs on the night. Lewis brought her home on a double while Lester reached on an error.

Wingate ended the Jackets’ night with a single to right field to score the eighth run and give the Tide the run-rule victory.

With the win, the Tide moved to 15-2 and 7-0 in region play. But the night was not yet over.

Fans and the team stuck around to await the finish of the Harlem and West Laurens game, knowing the Tide could secure the region title with a Harlem win.

The Bulldogs were already up 6-2 going into the sixth inning, giving the Tide fans a lot of hope. They held on to win as the celebration was on for the Lady Tide as they won their second straight region championship and secured at least a home series in the first round of the state playoffs.

The Tide’s season is not yet over, however. The team will play Bacon County on October 8. This will be the final game of the regular season that is also a matchup of two different number one teams as the Raiders are ranked number in the AA rankings and the Tide still sit atop the 4A rankings.