Northside loses to Stephens County, faces winner-take-all game

The Northside hitters picked a bad time to go silent Saturday.

With a chance to clinch the state championship, the Lady Patriots failed to score any runs in a 2-0 loss to Stephens County. As a result, the two teams will play a second game at 11 a.m. Saturday to determine the Class 4A championship.

Saturday's morning opener remained 0-0 until the bottom of the sixth inning.

A miscommunication in the outfield allowed a Lady Indians runner to reach on a bloop single. Kayley Sellers then stepped up to the plate and hit an RBI single between the left and center fielders. In the next at-bat, Mackenzie Rogers hit an RBI single to make it 2-0.

Northside got the tying run to the plate in the final frame, but a flyout to left field ended the threat.

The Lady Patriots left nine runners on the base paths in the loss. Starting pitcher Hannah George held Stephens County in check thanks in part to eight strikeouts, but one bad inning overshadowed her work.

This story was originally published October 28, 2017 at 11:04 AM with the headline "Northside loses to Stephens County, faces winner-take-all game."