Putnam girls double-up as state champs

  • Putnam County 10U Girls State Champions include (front row, l-r): Ally Stancil, Maycie Crawford, Evie Milbrath, Anna Heberling, and Zoiey Dennis; (middle row, l-r): Kamille Thrift, Breanna Moore, Jessi Mashburn, K’Leigh Jones, Nora Dodd, and Henleigh Rios, with coaches Jonathon Chambers, Dena Stancil, and Chad Crawford. (CONTRIBUTED)
    Putnam County 10U Girls State Champions include (front row, l-r): Ally Stancil, Maycie Crawford, Evie Milbrath, Anna Heberling, and Zoiey Dennis; (middle row, l-r): Kamille Thrift, Breanna Moore, Jessi Mashburn, K’Leigh Jones, Nora Dodd, and Henleigh Rios, with coaches Jonathon Chambers, Dena Stancil, and Chad Crawford. (CONTRIBUTED)
  • Putnam County 8U Girls State Champions include (l-r): Mina Moon, Selah Pickens, Kaylea Johnson, Baylee-Jean Raybon, Aubrey Diaz, Rayna Harper, Caroline Daniel, Aspen Mitchell, Brooklyn Mitchell, Paisley Neese, Victoria Tippens, and Raina Coxwell, with coaches Anthony Mitchell, Kevin Neese, Clyde Harper, and Danny Peterson. (CONTRIBUTED)
    Putnam County 8U Girls State Champions include (l-r): Mina Moon, Selah Pickens, Kaylea Johnson, Baylee-Jean Raybon, Aubrey Diaz, Rayna Harper, Caroline Daniel, Aspen Mitchell, Brooklyn Mitchell, Paisley Neese, Victoria Tippens, and Raina Coxwell, with coaches Anthony Mitchell, Kevin Neese, Clyde Harper, and Danny Peterson. (CONTRIBUTED)

    Both the coach-pitched 8-and-Under (8U) and live-pitched 10-and-Under (10U) Putnam County girls’ recreation softball teams won state titles last Friday afternoon at the Putnam County Recreation Center, which hosted the three-day tournaments.

    The Division 6 Putnam 8U girls, led by coaches Anthony Mitchell, Kevin Neese, Clyde Harper, and Danny Peterson, opened the double-loss elimination tourney on Tuesday with a 12-2 loss to Wilcox County.

    However, they followed up with a dominating 17-1 performance Wednesday morning to beat the D-6 regular-season champs from Morgan County, then posted a 19-7 win over Fannin County to advance.

    Thursday morning, the Putnam 8U team won 11-4 over D-3 champions Wilcox County to set up a final showdown series against D-7 champs Lumpkin County, which had not yet lost in the tournament.

    Under hot conditions Thursday afternoon, the girls of Putnam and Lumpkin counties staged a back-and-forth battle through six innings, resulting in a 12-9 win for the host team. They played again that evening in a winner-take-all match, resulting in another nailbiter until Putnam finally prevailed with a 16-11 score.

    In 10U action, where the girls throw pitches themselves, Putnam earned a 12-4 win early Tuesday afternoon over Wilkinson County to start the tournament. They maintained the momentum the next morning with a big 22-8 victory over D-4 champ Bowdon.

    That win set up a clash against D-7 champions Commerce, which previously survived an 8-7 scare over Greene County, but was defeated in a tight 10-9 decision favoring the Putnam girls.

    That assured Putnam County a spot in Thursday’s state championship-deciding games, but with one loss apiece, Commerce and Greene first had to face off Thursday morning to determine Putnam’s opponent. Commerce got the go-ahead with another tight 8-7 victory.

    Commerce continued to roll in the Thursday afternoon heat, laying a 22-2 drubbing on the local girls. Each team suffered one loss, establishing another winner-take-all scenario.

    This time, with coaches Jonathon Chambers, Dena Stancil, and Chad Crawford making the sideline calls, the Putnam U10 girls put together a 15-3 result to eliminate Commerce and take home the tournament trophy.