The Long County Lady Blue Tide softball team have now put themselves in a position to repeat as Region 3-AAA champions. They completed a three-game shutout sweep of the St. Vincent’s Saints with an 8-0 win in five innings Thursday on Senior Night.

Defense started out hot for the Lady Tide as Ciara O’Brien snagged a line drive to third and completed the double play at first. Casey Lust closed out the first with a strikeout.

In the second inning, O’Brien brought home Addison Moss on a single before senior Kyleigh Sizemore crushed a triple to the centerfield wall to clear the bases and make the score 4-0.

Ainsley Anderson recorded a sacrifice RBI as the Tide loaded the bases again on a walk, error and hit batter. Moss came back up to the plate and got hit by a pitch to score another run as the Tide led 6-0 going into the third.

That score held until the fifth inning, thanks in part to the Tide’s defense. Sizemore made a great play after Lust’s second strikeout of the inning.

Sizemore picked off an attempted steal at second base to close out the third and did it again for the first out of the fourth. Lester made a stretching tag to stop the steal at second in the fourth.

To open the bottom of the fifth, Mallory Skipper singled and Moss was hit by a pitch again before Alyssa Skipper brought her sister home on a sacrifice RBI to make the score 7-0.

Lester walked and O’Brien came back up to record her second RBI single of the game to make the final score 8-0. The Tide honored Sizemore and fellow senior Emma Smith after the game in recognition of Senior Night.

With the win, the Lady Tide are now 9-9 and 7-2 in region play. With Calvary Day defeating Savannah Christian on Thursday, a win by the Cavaliers Friday would give them the region championship.

A win by Savannah Christian would set up an end-season scenario next week. If the Lady Tide sweep the Raiders, they repeat as region champions.

If the Raiders win the three-game series, they are region champions. If the Lady Tide win the series without sweeping, it sets up a three-way tie for the region championship between the Tide, Raiders, and Cavaliers.

The Lady Tide will face off against Savannah Christian on Monday, Oct. 2 with the game beginning at 5:30.