Hebron Softball Concludes Season as GHSA AAA State Runner-Up

COLUMBUS, Ga.- After a historic season, the Hebron softball team concludes their season as GHSA AAA State Runner-Up after falling to Wesleyan 8-5 on Saturday afternoon.

The Lions finished the season with a 28-9 record. This is the farthest that any Hebron softball team has made it in the state tournament. 

"They told us in July they wanted to end on the “big stage”, which is Columbus in the Elite 8," said head coach Brittany Lewis. "As a staff we know what that takes and while we appreciated their big dreams, we also knew the grind we were about to have to put them through. In August, we started off solid but not great and finished that month with an even record of 6-6. Practices became even more intense and in September we hit our stride and we never looked back, finishing these last two months with a record of 21-5 and brought home a GHSA 8-AAA Region Championship and a GHSA AAA State Runner-Up title."

In a three game series, HCA won the first game 2-0 on Friday afternoon to advance to the state championship game. Pitcher Gwen Hill had nine strikeouts and four hits on the game to help the Lions advance. 

On Saturday, the two squads went into two games to determine the champion. In the first game of the day, the Lions fell in a close game 1-0 to the Wolves which tied the series up 1-1. 

The Lions could not upend the Wolves to take game two leading the Wolves to win their third straight state title and finishing 28-5 on the year.

At bat, the Lions relied heavily on Morgan Smith, Jaycee Thornhill, Addi McCullough, Brittyn Sissom, and Reagan Eve. In the circle on the weekend, Hill pitched 34 innings with 46 strikeouts. The junior ends the season with a 1.7 ERA and 400th career strikeout in one single season. 

"This last week in Columbus with this group was extra rewarding and special because I got to sit back a little bit and just watch them reap the reward they worked so hard for. We slayed a few giants down there (beating the #1 and #2 ranked team in the state) and made memories with each other that I hope they carry with them forever. We were the underdogs in every game we played down there, and it was so exciting watching them prove everyone wrong. The championship standard has now been set and I am ready to get to work with next year’s team. It won’t happen by accident, but we will be back! Go Lions!"

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