Greenbrier leads region

Columbia County's softball teams have hit the halfway point in the Region 3B-AAAA schedule. Once again, Greenbrier has positioned itself as the front-runner.

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Tuesday's 10-0 mercy-rule-shortened win over Lakeside left the Lady Wolfpack as the only undefeated team in their subregion. Greenbrier, ranked No. 2 in Class AAAA last week, has won a region title every year since the school opened in 1996. The Lady Wolfpack is on pace for a 12th straight region championship, but they haven't won it yet.

Greenbrier softball coach Garrett Black said the pressure is on.

"It's especially on our senior class. They take that attitude every year," he said. "They don't want to be the one (to break the region title streak)."

"The way our kids work in the weight room in the summer, I just think our kids are tough and they're used to having those expectations on them."

The senior class played a big role in the double-digit win over Lakeside last week. Senior Sara Oland led off the game with a single and finished 1-for-2 with two runs scored. Senior Kaitlyn Vest stepped in for Oland as a pinch hitter and ripped an RBI-double in the third inning.

Senior Chelcy Stanley hit a solo home run in the game, while classmate Kassie Bailey pitched a shutout in four innings. Bailey has yet to be beaten this season and held a perfect 9-0 pitching record after the Lakeside win.

"That's what a senior's supposed to do," Black said of Bailey's performance. "She's really turned it up a notch since the Shaw Tournament. She's getting to the point where she's saying, 'Coach, give me the ball.'"

Greenbrier (18-1) continued its winning ways on Thursday night with a subregion, 7-1 victory on the road at Statesboro.

The next big test for the Lady Wolfpack comes in the form of Evans. Greenbrier will play host to the Lady Knights on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

The Lady Wolfpack beat the Lady Knights 3-0 earlier this season at Evans.

Battle for second

Evans and Lakeside squared off on Thursday night at Evans for another Region 3B-AAAA showdown. The Lady Knights beat Lakeside by a score of 9-0. The win improved Evans to 3-2 in subregion play.

Harlem wins big

The Lady Bulldogs of Harlem beat up on region opponent Butler 16-0 in three innings on Tuesday. They also picked up a key region win at home against Cross Creek on Thursday, 6-5. Harlem now sits in first place in the Region 3B-AAA standings.