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Appling Co. on Thursday with an 8-4 win, the Vidalia Lady Indians captured the Region 3AA Championship with a 5-0 win over Pierce Co. on Friday in Vidalia. “I’m so proud of this team,” said Vidalia Head Coach Ben Beck. “Getting this championship for our community was a total team effort.”
With the win, the Indians moved to 16-6 overall and 11-2 in region play. It was the 12th straight win for the Lady Indians, who started the season at 4-6 and 0-2 in region play and struggling to find an identity.
But since a 2-0 loss to Toombs Co. on August 24, the Lady Indians haven’t looked back, outscoring their opponents by 6.1 runs per game. “We faced adversity early in the season, but following the leadership of this senior group, the team bought into the message that the coaching staff kept true to; that this was a high character team with a championship mentality. The girls didn’t listen to any outside noise, they put their heads down and worked.” Said Beck.
Beck went on to give credit to his coaching staff for being able to “fix some things” so the Lady Indians could reach their potential. “Coach Korn, Coach Bush, and Coach Norfleet focused the team’s attention on the small details we needed to fix in order to see our true potential. The saying goes that adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it… and I think this team’s character came shining through when we were struggling early on.”
Beck said that character began with his group of four seniors who have been a mainstay of the program since they were freshmen. “That character starts with the senior group of Emma Humphrey, Emma Vinson, Bralie Carey, and Tymber Harris. They epitomize the core values that we build this program around.”
Vidalia will finish the region schedule with a home game against Brantley Co. on Tuesday and then on the road against Pierce Co. on Wednesday. They will then host a State Super Regional on the 18th and 19th, with the State Championships taking place in Columbus October 25th through the 28th. “We are very proud of this region championship, but we are ready to keep working and make a run for a state championship.” vs. Pierce
Against the Lady Bears of Pierce County, VHS got on the board first with a run in the bottom of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. Vidalia added two more runs in the third inning to push that lead to 3-0 over Pierce.
VHS plated two additional runs in the fifth inning as they led 5-0. Vidalia held on and took the win by that score.
That moves them to 16-6 on the year and 11-2 in Region play. This is the final week of the regular season. They took on Emanuel County Institute on Monday of this week and then Brantley County on Tuesday, both after presstime. They will close out the season with Bleckley County on Thursday at home at 6:00 p.m.
