The last home games of the season for the Pope softball team were close, but were clinchers for the Greyhounds as they advanced to the Georgia High School Association finals once again.
Pope defeated Harrison 1-0 and 3-0 in a doubleheader Wednesday afternoon, and will be headed to the GHSA Final Eight next week in Columbus.
That’s the fifth time in the last six seasons for the Greyhounds (29-4), who reached the Class 6A semifinals in 2016.
Pope’s first game in the double-elimination round will be next Thursday morning at 11 against Evans High School of Augusta.
Another East Cobb team playing in the Class 7A state tournament was eliminated Wednesday. Lassiter lost a doubleheader on the road to Lowndes by 2-0 and 4-3 scores. The Lady Trojans finished with a 22-10 record.
Freshman pitcher Hallie Adams won both games for Pope, getting the game-winning run in the first game from Bailey Chapin, another freshman. Adams followed her one-hitter in the nightcap with a little more run support, as Chapin, senior Hannah Rogers and Leah Higgs drove in the runs for the Greyhounds to book another trip to Columbus.
Grace Kittrell was 2-for-4 at the plate for Pope.
In the Class 6A finals, another Cobb County team, Allatoona, also will be competing. But the biggest obstacle for Pope, should the Greyhounds advance, may be a team in their own region. Pope recently defeated Cambridge High School of North Fulton to win the Region 7-AAAAAA title.
However, Cambridge returns to Columbus as the defending state champion. Should Cambridge and Pope continue to advance, they could meet for the state championship as well.
