Perry loses nail-biter to West Laurens, clinches number two seed in playoffs

The Lady Panthers have clinched the number two seed in the playoffs. Although they lost a tough game against West Laurens, the number one seed in 4A Region 2, they showed grit and nearly willed their way to a victory, coming up just short on the wrong side of a defensive battle 1-0. Ashlyn Sanders, a junior, pitched a phenomenal game, holding one of the best offenses in the state to one run. Under new Head Coach Daniel Wood, the Lady Panthers have experienced a transformation, morphing from a team with no real identity at the beginning of the season into a serious contender who plays to their strengths and weaknesses.

Opening the season with four consecutive losses, the Lady Panthers came on strong in the middle of the season, like a Category 5 hurricane forming over the Atlantic, and blew away the competition, winning 12 games in row before losing to West Laurens. In their first meeting, West Laurens thrashed Perry 17-0 in the Panther Pit. But after coming together, Perry showed that they not only belonged on the same field with West Laurens, but that they could beat West Laurens. Perry had several chances to take the lead in the game, but the offensive production just wasn’t consistent, as they managed to get multiple hits of an outstanding pitcher, but they couldn’t seem to string them together.

Putting on a defensive display, Perry didn’t allow a run until the bottom of the third, and good plays by the defense, particularly from Riley Jones and Chloe Davey.

“The first time they came to Perry, they embarrassed us, you know, 17-0, so my challenge to the girls this time was if West Laurens plays their best and we play our best and still lose, we can be okay with that,” Coach Wood said after the game.

“But I want to see your best versus their best, and I feel like we inched closer to that today. Phenomenal defense — Riley Jones and Chloe Davey made some phenomenal plays on defense. Ashlyn Sanders came to West Laurens and held the #3 team in the state to one run. The defense did their job, but we just got to put those timely hits together and not spread them through the lineup, but just get a little momentum going, especially going into the playoffs here in two weeks.”

After this game, Perry defeated Hawkinsville on the road 19-4, finishing the regular season with 20 wins and six losses, so they have some momentum going into the playoffs. And they finished 10-2 in the region play, losing only to West Laurens, giving them the #2 seed. It will be interesting to see how far Perry can go in the playoffs this season, given that they have demonstrated they can compete with any team they have faced. In addition to their great team chemistry, the Lady Panthers have a solid head coach, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they got hot and made a serious run.

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