Lyons 8U Girls Battle to State Runner-Up Finish
The Lyons Recreation Department 8U girls softball team made the long haul up to Dalton last week for the GRPA State Tournament. They came back with the State Runner-up trophy after a gritty run through the bracket.
LRD vs. Coffee
The LRD squad opened up against Coffee County and made quick work of them in a 17-4 run-rule victory. Coffee managed a pair of runs in the top of the first. Lyons answered with one in the bottom half, then blew the game open in the second. An eight-run frame made it 9-2. Coffee scratched out two more in the fourth, but Lyons ended things early by plating eight in the bottom of the inning. Aloni Dupree and Gracie Bell did the heavy lifting at the plate, driving in five runs apiece.
LRD vs. Effingham
Things got sloppy in the winners' bracket semifinal against Effingham County. Defensive errors piled up, costing Lyons in a 22-9 loss. It was tight early on. Effingham scored in the first, but Lyons answered with two. Effingham plated a pair in the second, and Lyons responded to tie it at 3-3.
By the end of the third, LRD held a slim 5-4 edge. The game got away from them in the fourth. Effingham dropped five runs to take the lead, then pushed it out of reach with six in the fifth. Lyons managed four in the bottom of the fifth to stay alive, but a seven-run sixth for Effingham slammed the door.
LRD vs. Coffee
Dropped into the losers' bracket, Lyons faced a rematch with Coffee County. The bats came alive to the tune of 28 hits in a 23-11 shootout. Bell was a machine, racking up seven RBIs, while Ellie Williams drove in five. Lyons struck first, but Coffee took a 2-1 lead after one. Coffee held a 5-3 advantage after two, and both teams traded single runs in the third.
Lyons finally took control in the top of the fourth, erupting for six runs to go up 10-6. Coffee chipped the lead down to a single run in the bottom half. Lyons then put it away, pouring on six runs in the fifth and seven in the sixth to survive and advance.
LRD vs. Effingham Championship Game 1 The win set up a rematch with Effingham County in the Championship. Coming out of the losers' bracket, Lyons needed to win twice to take the title. They set the tone in game one, jumping out to a 6-0 lead in the top of the first. Bell stayed hot, tallying four hits and four RBIs.
Lyons tacked on a run in the second before Effingham finally got on the board with two in the bottom half. The LRD defense clamped down from there, and the offense added two in the fifth and one in the sixth for a commanding 10-2 win. The victory forced a winner-take-all second game.
Game 2
In the decisive second Championship game, the magic finally ran out. Lyons struck first with a run in the top of the second. Effingham answered with two in the bottom half, then broke it open with five in the third for a 7-1 lead.
Lyons grabbed two back in the fourth, but Effingham countered with three. Trailing 10-3 in the fifth, LRD mounted one last rally, pushing five runs across to cut the deficit to 10-8. Effingham responded with a six-run bottom of the fifth to pull away for a 16-8 win and the state title.
Despite coming up one game short in Dalton, the Lyons All Stars put together a stellar summer. They finish the year taking home a District Championship and a hard-earned secondplace finish at State.
