The Long County Lady Blue Tide softball team’s chances to win the Region 3-AAA championship went way up September 8. They faced off against the Southeast Bulloch Yellow Jackets and took home the 4-1 win.

The defense was stout all night, recording four innings where they allowed no base runners. The bats got going in the bottom of the first as freshman Catherine Sikes banged a double on the first pitch of the inning.

She was moved up to third by Hollan Clark before Sophia Brewster scored her on a single to put the Tide up 1-0 early in the game.

That 1-0 score held into the fifth inning with Brewster throwing three strikeouts and allowing just two baserunners through the fifth.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Tide got things going again at the plate.

Clark singled to open the bottom of the inning and Brewster reached on an error. Mackenzie Crews hit a double to score a run before Lana Lewis laid down a sacrifice RBI to make the score 3-0 going into the sixth.

The Tide found themselves in trouble in the inning after a hit put a runner on first with one out. Head coach Harley Kennedy made the call to intentionally walk the next batter into their cleanup hitter.

She said this decision was the best as the batter at the plate has seen success against the Lady Tide in recent years.

“That girl can freaking hit and she’s hit off of us for the past two years,” Kennedy said. “Last time we played them, she hit a home run that put them in a good position to fight at the beginning…With putting her on, it allowed us to skip through to get to the bottom of the lineup just a little bit and put us in a better standing in the seventh inning.”

The Jackets added a run on a single but the Tide held on to the 3-1 lead. That increased to 4-1 in the bottom of the sixth after Maddi Brannen walked and stole second before Sikes batted her home.

In the seventh, Brewster notched her fifth strikeout of the night.

She increased her strikeout total to 109 on the year and she was already looking forward to the next game.

“I’m pretty hype right now. Just ready for Thursday,” Brewster said. “My curveball, it’s the best it’s been.”

The Lady Tide are now 14-3 and 7-0 in region play. They have clinched the season series win against the Yellow Jackets, which will go a long way in determining the region champion.