Woodland locks up No. 3 seed

The Woodland Lady Cats softball team secured their fourth consecutive state playoff berth Thursday night with a win over Hiram, but Friday night captured a No. 3 seed by blanking Kell 8-0 to wrap up the Region 7-AAAAA tournament at home.

Carrollton won the region by beating East Paulding in a best-of-three series earlier in the week. Those two teams will be the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. Kell will be the No. 4 seed.

Friday night, Woodland pitcher Lainey Baker was dominant again. She scattered three hits and three walks while striking out six Kell batters.

Woodland started fast with five runs in the first two innings and were never really threatened. The Lady Cats added two more runs in the fourth inning and a run in the bottom of the sixth to end the game by run-rule.

Kendyl Hardin (photo) hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first to start the Woodland scoring. The Wildcats added two more runs on a Morgan Cooper single, back-to-back Longhorn errors, and a single by Brianna Hill.

Allyssa Motes single and scored on a Bella Carnes triple in the second inning for a 5-0 Woodland lead.

After a scoreless third inning, Woodland strung together a pair of hits and a pair of walks for two more runs and a 7-0 lead. Kell contributed as well with another error — this time in the outfield.

In the Wildcats’ sixth inning, Carnes singled and came around to score the walk-off run following two hit batsmen and a Kailey Baker RBI single.

Carnes (triple, RBI), Kailey Baker (double, RBI), and Motes finished with two hits each. Hardin had the two-run homer. Ansley Evans (RBI), Hill (RBI), Cooper, and Morgan Bailey added one hit apiece.

Woodland (19-10) opens the Class AAAAA playoffs Tuesday at Chamblee. The Bulldogs are the No. 2-seed from Region 5-AAAAA and are 21-6 this season. The best-of-three first round series begins with a doubleheader. The first game will start at 2 p.m. with the second game at 4:30 p.m. If a third game is needed, it will be Wednesday at Chamblee at 4 p.m.