Lakeside's latest win is big boost

Softball's regular-season play will wrap up this week, and the Region 3-AAAA Tournament is scheduled for this weekend at Patriots Park.

Greenbrier and Evans already have wrapped up the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, respectively, in the "B" subregion, but another school isn't quite ready for its season to end.

Lakeside, who entered this week's play with a record of 12-11, has seen eight of its 11 losses come by two or fewer runs. The Lady Panthers left no room for doubt Thursday with their biggest win of the season: a 17-1 region romp over the Academy of Richmond County.

"I just told the girls that's the best we've hit the ball all season long," Lakeside coach Jay Matthews said after his girls scored 17 runs on 15 hits in two innings. "After hearing that (Richmond Academy) swept Statesboro, I knew we had to win this game to get the three seed."

Before Lakeside makes its stand in the Region 3-AAAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed, the Lady Panthers still have plenty of softball to play. Barring any rain outs, Lakeside will have played four games in four days heading into the region tournament, including Thursday's region contest with Greenbrier.

Lakeside pitcher Andrea Batchelor said the extra games won't be a problem for the Lady Panthers squad.

"It actually helps because you get more out of a game than you do at a practice," she said. "We want to be ready for the region tournament."

The Region 3-AAAA tournament, with Greenbrier as the host team, will take place at Patriots Park on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. The top four teams left standing after the double-elimination tournament's first four rounds will advance to the state sectionals.

Seeding for the sectionals will be determined Oct. 11, with the Region 3-AAAA Tournament semifinals and finals at Patriots Park.