The Spalding High Lady Jags competed hard in the 9th annual Diamond Classic Softball Tournament this past Friday and Saturday at Volunteer Park in Griffin, going 2-3 in five games. Joining the Lady Jags in the Classic were GMC, Lamar County, Lumpkin County, Whitefield Academy, Monticello, Newton County, Upson-Lee, Crawford County, Locust Grove and West Forsyth.

The Lady Jags started their season with a 4-2 win over Whitefield Academy in game one Friday and lost a close one to Monticello 6-5 in the Friday nightcap. On Saturday, Spalding got another first-game win, defeating Lamar County 4-1 before losing to Crawford County 6-1 and Locust Grove 8-3. Overall, Lady Jags head coach Rusty Hudson felt his team did okay under the circumstances.

“We had some people in new positions this weekend, so that may have accounted for the errors we made,” he said. “But I have to say that a lot of our young players did surprisingly well in the Classic. I think this can be a good thing for us.”

Hudson said they used three pitchers during the tournament — senior Laura McGhee and freshmen Abby Toland and Lora Rape — and said they all did well in not giving up a lot of runs in each game.

“I think we can learn from this tournament and do even better as the year progresses,” Hudson said.

Spalding’s next game is its home opener against Lamar County Wednesday, Aug. 17 at 5 p.m.

SPALDING HIGH

2011 Softball Schedule



Date |Opponent |Time

8/12 |Whitefield Acad. |W 4-2

8/12 |Monticello |L 6-5

8/13 |Lamar Co. |W 4-1

8/13 |Crawford Co. |L 6-1

8/13 |Locust Grove |L 8-3

8/17 |Lamar Co. |5:00

8/18 |Newton Co. |5:00

8/23 |Sandy Creek* |5:30

8/25 |@ Eagle’s Lndg.* |5:30

8/30 |Eastside* |5:30

8/31 |Fayette Co. |5:00

9/1 |@ Stockbridge* |7:30

9/7 |@ Lamar Co. |5:00

9/8 |@ Griffin |5:00

9/13 |Drew* |5:30

9/15 |@ Jackson* |5:00

9/19 |@ Fayette Co. |5:00

9/20 |Henry Co.* |5:30

9/22 |@ Locust Grove* |5:30

9/26 |@ Dutchtown |5:00

9/29 |@ Newton Co. |5:00

10/3-6 |Region Tourn. |TBA

* — Region 4-AAA game