Whitewater and Starr’s Mill both made the Elite Eight of the Class AAAA state softball tournament and both fell short of the ultimate goal of a state title. Sandy Creek was in the Class AAA Elite Eight and also didn’t make the championship game.

Both the Lady Wildcats and the Lady Panthers won their opening games, forcing a rematch. Whitewater beat Cherokee 2-0 and Starr’s Mill beat Loganville 6-2. In the match between Whitewater and Starr’s Mill, the Lady Panthers got a 1-0 win, which put them in another rematch with a region 2-AAAA opponent, Northgate, while Whitewater took on Sequoyah.

In Starr’s Mill’s game with Northgate, Lauren Marchman hit a home run. Marchman also scored the second run with some crafty baserunning. Northgate got the tying and go-ahead runs in the sixth off of an error in the outfield.

In Whitewater’s game with Sequoyah, the Lady Wildcats lost 4-1 in eight innings. In the seventh inning, Jamie Saunders hit a lead off double and was followed by Ashley Pedersen, who walked. A passed ball put the runners on second and third with no outs and yet Whitewater couldn’t score. Pedersen had 10 strikeouts in the game.

Starr’s Mill went on to play Sequoyah and lost 2-0. The Lady Panthers finished third in the state and Whitewater finished fifth.
Sandy Creek started the Elite Eight with a 3-1 loss to Shaw and followed it with a 2-1 loss to Spalding. The loss to Spalding came in the seventh inning.