Varsity softball stays strong versus region opponents

The LCHS varsity softball team continued to fare well against Region 7-AAA opponents last week to maintain its hold on second place in the region standings with two games remaining in the 2019 regular season.
The Lady Indians flexed their muscles at the plate and received sensational pitching from their pitching staff to improve to 14-9 overall and 8-2 in conference play with wins over Greater Atlanta Christian and Cherokee Bluff.
LCHS head coach Joseph Jones hasn’t been surprised by the team’s success this season, especially against region opponents.
“I believe much of our success has been built over the last few years,” said Jones. “When we cross the lines, I believe our team truly believes we will win. Our team has worked very hard. With that comes confidence in having success because they know they have put in the work and feel like they deserve it. We have played a pretty tough non-region schedule which I believe helped us prepare for region play.”
 The Lady Indians started the week off with a non-conference matchup versus Madison County at the University of North Georgia’s Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium on Monday, Sept. 16.
Madison’s pitching staff proved too much for the Lady Indians’ lineup and refused to allow Lumpkin to get on the scoreboard.
While the Lady Indians struggled at the plate versus Madison, the Lady Red Raiders were able to plate five runs in the contest.
The end result was a 5-0 loss for Lumpkin, dropping the team’s overall record to 12-9.
The loss put the Lady Indians on a two-game losing skid.
The Lady Indians bounced back when they hosted Greater Atlanta Christian (GAC) at the LCHS softball field for Region 7-AAA action the following day, Sept. 17, ending the two-game losing streak.
The game marked the return of team veteran Brighton Harder, who had missed most of the season due to a broken arm she suffered when struck by a pitch at the end of summer play.
After holding the Lady Spartans scoreless in the top of the first inning, Lumpkin’s lineup exploded for eight runs in the bottom half of the frame to take a commanding 8-0 lead. The Lady Indians added another run in the bottom of the third and one more in the bottom of the fourth to defeat GAC 10-1 in a run-rule shortened game.
The dominant victory ended the Lady Indians’ losing skid and improved the team’s overall record to 13-9 and its region record to 7-2.
The Lady Indians kept rolling when they faced off with the Cherokee Bluff Lady Bears on the road on Thursday, Sept. 19, in a region matchup.
Lumpkin belted six home runs in the contest to help them to a 13-5 victory over Cherokee Bluff. Freshman Natalie Shubert connected for three home runs, Evee Dornhecker struck for two home runs and Lauren English belted a solo shot in the dominate offensive performance by the Lady Indians.
The win improved the team’s overall record to 14-9 and its region record to 8-2.
The two region wins versus GAC and Cherokee Bluff kept in the spirit of the team’s dominance over conference opponents this season and allowed Lumpkin to maintain sole possession of second place in the Region 7-AAA standings.
During her two games back with the team, Harder went 6-for-6 with a couple of walks.
“I am happy for Brighton [Harder] to finally get back on the field,” Jones said. “She has been a great teammate through the whole process. I am excited for her and her family to get het back between the lines for her senior year. I feel that Brighton gives the rest of our team a little more confidence at the plate and defensively.”
Jones commended the younger players that had to fill in while Harder was sidelined.
“We have had some younger players really step up and do a good job in center field and at the plate while Brighton was out,” Jones said. “This should help our team in the future with those players getting more varsity experience this year.”
With two games remaining in the 2019 regular season, Jones hopes that his players will continue to enjoy success as they draw closer to the Region 7-AAA Tournament.
“This season has been a ton of fun for our coaching staff and I hope it has been the same for the girls,” Jones said. “As a coach, when you see leaders developing on and off the field it makes you feel successful. Our team has great unity this year and great leadership from many players in our program. The team spirit and leadership within the team, I believe is the main reason we are seeing success this year. Along with that, we have a crew of ‘Wild Indians’ who love softball and they are pretty good at playing it too. I am very proud of our team and what they have accomplished thus far.”
With the Lady Indians’ only two losses in region play coming at the hands of first place East Hall, who remains undefeated in the conference at 10-0, Jones believes that his team can pull out what would be considered an upset during the Region 7-AAA Tournament if his players just play their game.
“We just have to play our game and not worry about who we are playing,” Jones said. “A few times in the past when we have played East Hall, we have gotten caught up in who our opponent was and different situations that happened in the games and ultimately lost concentration and got away from our game plan. We have played some top tier teams this fall and had success. Hopefully, this will help us a couple of weeks from now when we play East Hall for a region championship.”
At press time, the Lady Indians were set to celebrate Senior Night at the LCHS softball field versus the North Hall Lady Trojans in the team’s penultimate game of the 2019 season. No official results were available.
The LCHS varsity softball team will finish out the regular season when they travel to Fannin County to square off with the Lady Rebels in their final regular season game tomorrow, Sept. 26. First pitch is slated for 5:55 p.m.