Defense and pitching dominated for seven innings, but the Raider offense owned the eighth.
Madison County (24-1) scored five times in the top of the eighth — with four of those runs coming with two outs — to beat Loganville 5-0 Thursday in the 8-AAAA tournament and advance to the region championship game.
The title contest is today (Friday) at 2 p.m. at the Madison County High School softball field. The Raiders play either Apalachee, Winder-Barrow or Loganville.
Since this is a double-elimination tournament, Madison County still has one loss to give. The “if necessary game” follows at 4 p.m.
The Raiders are shooting for their first region title since 2001.
Neither Madison County or Loganville crossed home plate through the first seven innings of Thursday’s game, but the Raiders — playing as the visiting team — got the offense going when they needed it in the top of the eighth.
With Olivia Duncan on second (according to tiebreaker rules, each team starts extra innings with a runner at second), Emily Mann got the inning started with a bunt hit with one out, moving Duncan to third. Elizabeth Whieldon followed with a bunt hit to bring home Duncan and break the scoreless tie.
Sam LaZear and Haley Peeples then added two-out RBI singles to pad the lead at 3-0, and Katie Bolin supplied a two-run single to increase the advantage to 5-0.
Armed with a five-run cushion, Raider starting pitcher Erin Gibson held Loganville off the scoreboard in the bottom of the eighth to cap-off a complete-game shutout.
Gibson was aided by a huge defensive play in the bottom of the fifth when Sam LaZear fielded a base hit to center field and gunned down Loganville's Brooke Robinson at home to preserve the 0-0 tie.
The victory extended Madison County’s winning streak to 18 games. With 24 victories, the Raiders have already equaled their win total from last year.
Madison County started the region tournament Wednesday night with a 9-2 victory over Heritage, clinching a spot in the state tournament.
The Raiders' opponent in the finals was to be determined in the losers' bracket Thursday afternoon. Loganville was set to take on the winner of Apalachee and Winder-Barrow.
Madison County will face whichever team emerges from the Loganville-Apalachee/Winder-Barrow game.
