Ladies win region 3-AA championship

By Russ Ragan
The Dodge High Lady Indians Softball team left no question as to who was the top team in region 3-AA. They had everything working as they outscored opponents the opposition 32-0 in repeating as region champs.
The opener against Washington County had no drama, as Dodge rolled to a 12-0 win. Dodge had to wait around for the opponent, as Bleckley County was tied up in a tight game against East Laurens. The Lady Falcons actually took a 10-3 lead going to the bottom of the sixth. The Lady Royals would score ten runs in the sixth to take a 13-10 win.
The Lady Indians would get ahead with three runs in the first and roll to an 8-0 win.
On Wednesday, Dodge would have two chances to be region champs. They would only need one. Again, it was Bleckley County, as expected, and Dodge would again score a bunch in the first inning, as they got five in the first for an easy 12-0 win.
The Lady Indians will now face Westside out of Augusta in a best of three series. Games one and two will be today (Wednesday) in Eastman. Game time for game one is 3:30 p.m. and game two is supposed to get going around 5:30 p.m.
Off we go to Dublin for the opening round of region tournament play against Washington County. Linzy Bowen got the start on the mound for the Lady Indians. Both teams failed to score in the first. Bowen rolled through the second on just seven pitches.
Dodge went to work in the bottom of the second. Jacey Dowdy would single to lead off, and she would be replaced on the bases by the speedy Europe Brown. Sara Lann would double home Brown, and Dodge would lead 1-0. Hits from Hailey Hickman, Amber Maxwell and Jenna Hickman would give Dodge a 4-0 lead. Jade Dowdy would drive home Julianna Bellflower, and Aniyah Black would be driven in by Abby Manning for a 6-0 Dodge lead going to the third. Bowen would work around a pair of singles to keep the Dodge lead at 6-0 going to the bottom of the third. Lann would lead off the Dodge third with a single, and then a pair of two-out walks to Hailey Hickman and Bellflower would load the bases. Jade Dowdy would single home Lann and Hailey Hickman for an 8-0 Dodge lead. A single by Black would send home Bellflower for a 9-0 lead going into the fourth.
Bowen would get a pair of strikeouts in the fourth, and now Dodge would come to the plate needing three runs to end this one in four innings. Dodge wasted little time, as Jacey Dowdy and Lann would single. Hailey Hickman and Maxwell would score them for an 11-0 game. Jenna Hickman would single home Hailey Hickman, and that would do it for the 12-0 final.
That would set up Dodge and Bleckley for the third time this year. This one would have a lot of action in the first. Bleckley would have a chance in the first, as they would load the bases with two out. Jade Dowdy would get the big out on a strikeout, her second of the inning, and the Lady Royals would be denied.
Dodge would also have a chance in the bottom of the first; would they cash in? The answer would be, absolutely. A lead off single by Bellflower on a two-strike count, followed by an error that allowed Jade Dowdy to reach, and a walk to Black would load the bases for third baseman Manning. The junior third baseman would hit a ball very deep to right center for a triple that would score Bellflower, Sydney Powell, who was running for Dowdy, and Black for a 3-0 Dodge lead after the first.
The Dodge defense would come up big in the second. The Lady Royals would have a runner on second with one out. Lady Indian left fielder Hailey Hickman made a diving catch on a sinking line drive, and she threw a strike to Bellflower at second to double off the runner, and Dodge would keep the 3-0 lead.
Dodge added to the lead in the bottom of the second. Bellflower would reach on an error with one out. A single by Jade Dowdy and a two-out walk to Manning would load the bases. Runs batted in from Jacey Dowdy, Lann and Hailey Hickman would push the lead out to 6-0 going to the third.
The Lady Royals again would have a chance to score in the third, as they had runners at first and third with only one out. A fly ball to center fielder Jenna Hickman would be caught, and they decided not to try and tag up on the senior’s arm and it was a good thing, as it would have been really close at the place. Dodge would deny the Lady Royals as a ground ball to Bellflower at second would end the inning with a 6-0 lead.
Dodge would add to the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Lann would double to left center, which would score Manning and Brown, who was running for Jacey Dowdy, and the Dodge lead was 8-0 going to the fifth.
The Lady Royals would get a couple of base runners in the fifth, but a ground ball to Black at short would end this one in the 8-0 final.
On Wednesday, Dodge would again play Bleckley, this time, for the region championship. Dodge would only need a single win, while Bleckley would need a pair of wins.
Jade Dowdy would get a pair of strikeouts, and she would make a nice play on a come backer to the mound that would leave a runner at third.
The Lady Indians would go right to work at the plate. Jade Dowdy would reach on an error with one out. She would be replaced on the bases by Powell. A walk to Black and a single by Manning would load the bases for Jacey Dowdy. She would reach on an error and Powell would score for a 1-0 lead. Lann would single home Black and Manning for a 3-0 lead. Brown, who was running for Jacey Dowdy, and Lann would score on an error, and the Dodge lead would be 5-0 after the first.
The Lady Royals would get their only solid hit of the night to lead off the second on a double to left center. Jade Dowdy would work around it on another good play on a come backer. She made three good plays on the mound and an infield popup.
Dodge added to the lead in the bottom of the second. Bellflower would lead off the inning with a single. Jade Dowdy would once again reach on an error. A one-out single by Manning would load the bases. Singles by Lann and Hailey Hickman would give Dodge an 8-0 lead after two.
Jade Dowdy would then shutdown the Lady Royals’ offense. She would get the three infield ground balls to keep the Dodge lead at 8-0 going to the bottom of the third.
Jenna Hickman would walk and steal second to lead off the inning. Bellflower would move her to third. Jade Dowdy would help herself on a sacrifice fly, and the lead would be 9-0. Manning would get her third hit of the game that would score Black, who also singled and went to second on a wild pitch. The lead was not 10-0, and the game was nearing an end.
The Lady Royals could only get a fly ball to Jenna Hickman in center, and then Jade Dowdy would get a pair of strikeouts to keep the lead at 10-0 going to the bottom of the fourth.
Dodge would only need two runs to wrap up the championship in four innings. A single by Hailey Hickman and a double by Maxwell put runners at second and third with nobody out. Jenna Hickman singled to left to wrap home the game, as Maxwell would score, and that would do it for the 12-0 final.
It was a total team effort, as Dodge had 12 hits, and they made no errors in the field. Jade Dowdy was great on the mound, as she pitched a two-hit shutout with four strikeouts and no walks. She retired the final nine batters of the game.
The Lady Indians are playing their best ball of the year. Congratulations to the team, along with coaches Jennifer Bellflower, Meghan McCranie and Kenton Haley. A series win this week will have them playing at home next week, as they make a bid to make back-to-back trips to Columbus.