Softball: Jefferson returns with shutout of East Jackson

Jefferson (5-10, 3-1) hadn’t played since beating Elbert County 14-5 last Tuesday but jumped on the visiting Eagles with three runs in the first inning en route to the victory. Click here for pictures.

“I’m proud of the girls,” Jefferson coach Melissa Mullis said. “We met a few of our goals and we shut them down, which was good. We left a lot of people on base, which was not good, but we’re continuing to make improvements as we go. We had a good time, the girls had fun. That’s all I can ask.”

Mullis said the downtime prior to Tuesday’s game helped.

“We were finally able to hit the issues that we were continually having,” she said. “When we were playing the tournaments and the region games, we were having eight games in one week, we couldn’t recuperate and correct our mistakes.”

Jefferson and East Jackson began Tuesday’s game locked in a tie for third in Region 8-AA South. Jefferson now moves on to face Region 8-AA South subregion co-leader North Oconee at home Thursday.

“They’re a great team,” Mullis said of the Titans. “They’re a great team. They have great coach. They’re always going to traditionally have excellence in their program. We’re just going to have to come out and play the best game we can.”

Meanwhile, East Jackson (3-5, 2-2) must regroup to play rival Jackson County Thursday on the road.

“They’re the best team in the region I think,” Eagle coach Jason Rainey said. “We’ve got to bring our A game. If we don’t, we’re going to have a hard time. But we certainly can. They’re a good team. Everybody is good to us right now.”

Jefferson got off to a hot start Tuesday with Jordyn Whitfield and Cason Anderson collecting first-inning RBIs and Whitfield scoring on a wild pitch to give the Dragons a 3-0 lead. Paige Pate drove home Jefferson’s other run in the second inning.

Sandy and Lindsey Miles both went 2-for-3 at the plate.

From the pitcher’s circle, Savannah Snapp threw a complete-game shutout for Jefferson, her first of the year. She allowed just three hits and one walk while striking out nine.

“She’s a competitor,” Mullis said. “She’s a warrior. She goes out there and is very intense and I like that. She always gives me 100 percent.”

But Mullis said her team, who was shutout over the last five innings, had some problems offensively in addition to the number of runners the Dragons left on base.

“We missed a few signals, and there were some base running, mental mistakes that we need to continue to address,” Mullis said. “And we just left way too many people on and didn’t execute.”

Rainey found some positives despite the loss, pointing to his team’s play down the stretch and starter Taylor Nix’s pitching performance.

“We’re just trying to make steps,” he said. “It’s just a little bit at a time. If we could have played the whole game like we played the last four innings, we would have been better off.”