Last year, Starr's Mill won the region softball tournament and finished as runners-up in the AAAAA state tournament to Kell. Though they won't be the top seed from region 4-AAAAA this year, that honor goes to East Coweta, the Lady Panthers are on their way to the state tournament once again, this time as the number two seed.

Starr's Mill lost twice in the region 4-AAAAA tournament; once to Union Grove in the second game, 1-0 and once to East Coweta in the championship game, 3-2. They opened up the tournament with a 15-0 win over Lovejoy and then followed the Union Grove loss with wins over Fayette County, 4-3; Newnan, 6-2; Union Grove, 5-3 and East Coweta, 2-1 before the 3-2 loss to the Lady Indians in the final.

"We played a lot of tough teams from the north side earlier this season and it's starting to pay off," said Coach Mark Williamson, who has seen his team remain poised and play well in all facets of the game. "Our defense played great in the tournament, with the excpetion of two errors in the final game and the offense is starting to hit the ball well."

Lindsay Walker and Jackie Jones were the two top hitters for Starr's Mill in the tournament, with Walker driving in two runs and Jones driving in one in the game that sent them to the championship game. Jones also pitched incredibly strong, pitching the final three games of the tournament and earning two wins.

"Lauren Marksman is also doing a great job for us," said Williamson. Marksman is the team's backup catcher and has stepped up since Rebecca Aszman went down with a season ending injury.

Now, the Lady Panthers will have some time off before heading to the Hamilton Complex in Tifton next Friday for a 4 p.m. game against the third seed from region 2-AAAAA. Brackets are available at www.gasports.com or www.ghsa.net.

The region 4-AAAA tournament started Wednesday and both McIntosh and Sandy Creek opened with losses, while Whitewater opened with a win. The Lady Chiefs faced Chapel Hill for the second consecutive game and once again lost by a run, this time 3-2. Sandy Creek had to face top-seeded Northgate and lost 2-0 as the Lady Vikings played a perfect game against the Lady Patriots. Whitewater edged out Woodward Academy 1-0 in eight innings in the opener and then faced Northgate and lost 10-0 as the Lady Vikings allowed no hits for the second straight game.

In region 5-A, both Landmark Christian and Our Lady of Mercy are heading to the state playoffs. Our Lady of Mercy defeated Landmark to capture the three seed but lost to Mt. Zion, Carroll, the eventual two seed, in the next game. Landmark went 2-2 in the tournament, beating Eagle's Landing Christian and Whitefield Academy and losing to Mt. Zion, Carroll and Our Lady of Mercy. The Lady Bobcats went 3-2, snaring wins over Mt. Paran and Eagle's Landing Christian in addition to the win over Landmark, while losing to region champs St. Francis and the region runners-up Mt. Zion.

Landmark and Our Lady of Mercy will open the state tournament at the fields on McDonough Road in Hampton. Landmark will play the top seed from region 7-A at 4 p.m. and Our Lady of Mercy will play the second seed from region 7 at 6 p.m.

For updates on the upcoming tournaments, visit www.thecitizennews.com.