by Mark Turner
White County News
The White County Recreation Department 's 8U softball team made a run chased a state title last week in Putnam County.
The Lady Warriors, who won the Class C Coach Pitch District 7 title earlier this summer, came close to adding a state championship trophy to the resume with a runner-up finish in the Class C State tournament.
Members of the 8U team are Lily Thomas, Gabby Branson Weslynn Vandegriff, Kamryn Pressley, Cora Biddy, Vivian Barton, Zoe Hester, Madison Worley, Bravely Lisk, Reagan Moose, Breckan Milligan and Harper Ward. The team's head coach is Brandon Hester, with Tim Milligan, Dee Brannon, Jessi Biddy and Heather Ward serving as assistant coaches.
“The girls have put in a lot of hard work,” said Hester. “The majority of these girls were on the team last spring when they won only two games, so to make it to the state championship a year later is pretty special. Even though we fell in the championship game, I couldn't be more proud of these girls.”
The Lady Warriors, who posted a 5-1 record during the district tournament title run and outscored their opponents 105-54 in that tournament, continued to showcase a high-powered offense in the state tournament.
The White County squad opened the state tournament with a 16-11 win over Meriweather County, the District 4 champions. The Lady Warriors followed that with a 16-3 rout over Putnam County winner bracket final, the District 3 champions, to earn a spot in the winner bracket final advance to the championship bracket in the six-team tournament.
The Lady Warriors faced off against Meriweather County in a rematch of the opening game of the tournament, and Meriweather avenged the earlier loss to the Lady Warriors with a 14-7.
The loss forced the two teams to play again for the state title and Meriweather hung on for an 11-10 win to take the state crown.
“The girls played really hard during the tournament,” Hester said. “They played in 100 degree weather during the tournament; it was hot and they played through that. The girls showed a lot of improvement though the season and we had a good coaching staff that deserves a lot of the credit . I'm very proud of all these girls.”