By Donald Heath
Special for the Effingham Herald
GUYTON – Sometimes it’s not how you start. It’s how you finish.
South Effingham started slowly Sept. 18 but finished with the kick of Secretariat during a 10-2 softball victory over Statesboro in the middle game of the three-game set.
South (13-5, 8-0) won the finale 9-3 the next day to stay undefeated in subregion play.
“Ultimately, we did the things we needed to do,” said head coach Adam Newland about the Mustangs’ win Wednesday. “Izzy (Wilkins) was very good in the circle tonight and she kept us from getting too far behind and it was good for us to put the game away once we had the lead.”
South had outscored its opponents 76-1 coming into Wednesday’s game after a 10-0 victory over the Blue Devils on Tuesday.
But the Mustangs fell behind 2-1 in the second inning.
South, however, tied it in the bottom of the second, took the lead in the third and hit Statesboro with two runs in the fifth and five more in the sixth to end the game because of the eight-run mercy rule.
After Makenzi Polk made a diving catch in right field to end the top of the fifth, 12 of the final 14 Mustangs reached base. The top five in the lineup – Justine Nevels, Danni Lynn, Alyssa Martin, Rosie Dixon, and Kenzie Ergle – each reached twice.
“It’s a good lesson. You have to come ready to play every single day,” Newland said. “If we take it for granted, we’ll find ourselves in a situation we have to crawl out of.”
To prepare for a tougher road ahead, Newland scheduled Wayne County, Savannah Christian and a two-game round robin with Alcovy and host Grovetown two weeks ago. SEHS lost three of four but gained valuable experience in the increased competition.
A 3-2 loss to highly regarded Grovetown in nine innings could have boosted the young Mustangs’ confidence more than any of the previous Mercy-ruled subregion wins.
The Mustangs complete subregion play with a three-game set with Glynn Academy, which is also undefeated in the subregion, and a single (makeup) game with Brunswick. The Red Terror played Effingham County competitively before falling 4-2 in nine innings.
“Glynn is in every game they play in. They’ll be a tough, scrappy team and we have to come ready to play,” Newland said.
The region tournament, which starts Oct. 1, increases the competition. If South hopes to win, it will most likely have to beat Greenbrier and Effingham County – ranked No. 5 and No. 6 in the state by ScoreAtlanta.
“It’s that time of year. When you reach October, everyone is good,” Newland said. “There are no games to take off. There are no teams that won’t challenge you. Obviously, we want to come out on top of (the subregion and region tournament), but regardless we’ll be playing some good teams to be ready for October.”
