Houston County softball advances to Elite 8 in win over South Paulding 

WARNER ROBINS — Ann Marie DeFore sealed the series win with a two-run home run in the sixth inning, and the Houston County Lady Bears beat the South Paulding Lady Spartans 7-4 in the Game 3 tiebreaker of the second round of the GHSA 5A State Tournament. 

Houston County (23-10) came out aggressive in the first inning, sending eight batters to the plate and capitalizing on miscues by the Lady Spartans. 

South Paulding (17-10) dug themselves into a hole early on in the first inning, but stayed in the game and kept a competitive edge all night. 

Kinley Snider started the game off with an infield single, then stole second to get into scoring position. Arianah McKenzie drove her home on an RBI double, giving Houston County a 1-0 lead. 

Olivia Buffone slapped an RBI single that turned into a double off a wild throw to first base. Armani Frazier hit a two-RBI single to shallow left to put the Lady Bears up 4-0 at the bottom of the first inning. 

In the third inning, Hayley McElroy hit a towering solo home run over left center field. 

Karli Parker, for the Lady Spartans, struck out six over seven innings while hitting a solo home run over the center field wall in the fourth inning. 

DeFore pitched five innings, striking out four and issuing one walk. In the bottom of the fifth, DeFore worked her way out of a bases-loaded jam after allowing a two-run home run to South Paulding. 

Parker was intentionally walked by Houston County in the fifth and seventh innings in a strategic move to keep more runs from scoring. The move paid off on both occasions as South Paulding only scored one run in the seventh inning, an RBI double down the right field line to add one more run to the final score. 

Houston County head coach April Collins was ecstatic as she celebrated the win with her team: “Our girls came out ready tonight – I am so proud of them. This is what we have worked for all year long.” 

“They came out with that intensity and were ready to go in that first inning,” Collins added. “We wanted to prove ourselves, to keep staying hot, and take this all the way.”

Tensions between both teams and the umpires ran high all night due to disagreements on several officiating calls. 

UP NEXT 

The Houston County Lady Bears will face the Lassiter Lady Trojans (23-6) on Wednesday, October. 30, at 5:00 p.m.