The Lady Bulldogs, ranked No. 5 in the state, come to Hoschton with a 14-6-1 record. North Gwinnett is 5-0 in the region.
Mill Creek, currently ranked No. 2, stands at 6-0 in the region and 17-4 overall. With region play winding down, the winner of tonight’s game will most likely walk away with a region championship.
With the Lady Hawks working towards their fourth consecutive region title, North Gwinnett will be looking to play spoiler.
Mill Creek head coach Kelly Murdock said North Gwinnett has a very good team this year.
“They have all the tools,” she said. “They have good pitching and speed and good defense and power hitting. I imagine it’s going to be a tough game.”
Murdock is optimistic that the Lady Hawks can beat top ranked North Gwinnett.
“If they stick to the game plan that we put together, I feel pretty good about our chances,” she said.
That said, Murdock knows her team will have to bring their best game.
“You know, it’s a game of inches and anything can happen,” she said. “If we take them lightly at all, they’ll hammer us.”
First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Hoschton.
Lions Tamed
Mill Creek extended its region winning streak to five last Tuesday with a win over Peachtree Ridge. The Lady Hawks beat the No. 4 ranked Lady Lions 8-0.
Morgan Bullock pitched a no-hitter and added two hits and two stolen bases. Devin Dossman had a home run, a single and three RBIs. Hannah Graham had a hit, an RBI, a stolen base and a run.
Devils go Down
Mill Creek improved to 6-0 in the region with Thursday’s win over Norcross.
The Lady Hawks beat the Blue Devils 7-3.
Bullock was the winning pitcher, striking out 14 batters. Offensively, Bullock added three hits and three runs to Mill Creek’s winning total.
Saxton finished the night 2-for-3 with a home run and a triple. Stimis went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.
Brookwood Tournament
Mill Creek ended last week’s tournament with a 4-2 record.
Murdock said she felt good about the outcome.
“We got a lot of good innings out of a lot of people,” she said.
The Lady Hawks started the tournament with a big win against Greater Atlanta Christian. Bullock pitched the 6-0 shutout for Mill Creek. Bullock gave up four hits and struck out seven during the first round matchup.
Chandler Griffin was 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run. Alex Rogers finished the game 2-for-3 and Amberlie Saxton was 3-for-4 with three RBIs.
The Lady Hawks dropped their game against Creekview, losing 0-2.
Lauren Kaczynski was charged with the loss after pitching six innings with no earned runs and giving up only four hits.
Bullock and Stimis went 1-for-3 against Creekview.
Tournament play continued on Friday with a match against Jones County. Kaczynski pitched a shutout to lead the Lady Hawks to a 1-0 victory.
The only score of the evening came on a wild pitch which allowed Jenna Holland to cross the plate.
Chelsea Cruce, Danielle Jones and Karlee Beggs each added hits for Mill Creek.
Saturday, Mill Creek added to a strong tournament performance with an 8-1 thrashing of Apalachee. Morgan Bullock was credited with the win, giving up no earned runs and striking out six.
Bullock was 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs. Chandler Griffin was also 3-for-4 with a pair of runs batted in.
In the next game, Whitewater held on to beat Mill Creek 5-4 in an eight inning battle.
Kaczynski was charged with the loss, giving up three earned runs.
Alex Rogers went 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI. Hannah Graham was 2-for-2 with a run and an RBI.
In Mill Creek’s last game of the tournament, the Lady Hawks topped Central-Carrollton by a score of 5-1.
Bullock allowed one hit and gave up no earned runs against the Lady Lions. Lauren Stimis went 2-for-3 with a run. Hannah Beth Baker was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Amberlie Saxton finished the game 2-for-3 with a home run and two runs.
Murdock said the past week went very well for the Lady Hawks.
“Overall, our focus was to win the three region games that we had and we did that so I’m really pleased,” she said. “We’ve put ourselves in a really good position as far as getting a chance to play for the number one seed.”
