Henry Daily Herald

Photo by Derrick Mahone Dutchtown pitcher Kierra Scott has tossed two no-hitters this season. Bulldogs head coach Sam Coley said Scott’s continued success is key for a postseason run.

The Dutchtown Bulldogs were unable to leave its Tuesday night game against Locust Grove in the same way they came.

Dutchtown went into last night’s game against Locust Grove as the only unbeaten team left in the Southern Crescent but lost 5-0 in a game where the Bulldogs could only muster three hits against Wildcat pitching — all of those coming from senior short stop Tori Nelson.

Standout sophomore pitcher Kierra Scott is also nursing an injured toe and, at press time, was considered doubtful for their Thursday night matchup against Griffin.

Despite the recent turbulence, coach Sam Colely said he still feels like his Bulldogs are in a positive place with just seven games left before the Region 4-AAAA tournament begins.

“It was disappointing to lose to Locust Grove Tuesday night,” Coley said. “But it wasn’t completely unexpected. Locust Grove is a good team. We walked a lot of batters and tried to keep it close but we didn’t swing the bats to well.”

After Griffin, the Bulldogs will face winless Riverdale and upstart Woodland who, despite its 7-7 overall record, are a perfect 6-0 in region 4-AAAA play. Then come tough tests against Arabia Mountain, Eagle’s Landing and Upson-Lee to round out the regular season.

Coley says that if Scott and company can remain healthy on the mound, he feels confident about Dutchtown’s chances in the postseason.

“For me, pitching is the key,” he said. “If our pitching holds up we’ll do extremely well.”

Here’s a look at how some other Southern Crescent teams are doing.

ELCA: The Chargers have cracked the GACA Coaches poll as the No. 10 team in Class A. This after having won five straight and seven of their last eight games. The latest being a 10-2 win over Strong Rock. ELCA’s pitching and defense have been exceptional, pitching two shutouts and holding teams to an average of just one run per game during the stretch. Its’ lone loss was to second-ranked Georgia Military — a 2-1 setback that went nine innings. Coach Doug Campbell’s squad will play in the Milton Invitational in Alpharetta this week before rounding out its regular season against Mt. Vernon Presbyterian, Galloway and a much-anticipated rematch against Georgia Military.

Woodland: The Lady Wolfpack is the epitome of a team that treats its region schedule as the season that truly counts. Despite a .500 overall record (7-7), Woodland has gone undefeated in Region 4-AAAA matchups, scoring almost 11 runs a contest in those six wins, including an impressive 12-0 victory over Locust Grove last Wednesday.

They’ve done the job on defense as well, giving up just two runs in the last four games. After closing out the week against another region foe in Stockbridge, the Wolfpack will travel to the Gordon Lee Invitational this weekend and then complete its regular season with three of its last four games at home, including matchups against Dutchtown and No. 6 Ola.

Locust Grove: After being one of the Southern Crescent’s most consistent teams for much of the season, the Wildcats experienced a couple of late season hiccups, pairing the Woodland loss with an 8-3 setback against sixth-ranked Ola their next time out. After wins against Dutchtown and Luella on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively, coach Chris Davis is hoping that his Wildcats are finding their stride once again. In the Dutchtown game, Lexi Longmire is 9-3 on the mound and pitched a shutout against Dutchtown, prompting Bulldogs coach Sam Coley to call Longmire “the best pitcher we’ve faced all year.” Coach Davis will continue to count on Morgan Edwards and Mary Emily to power the Wildcats offense with their bats.

Union Grove: Since a 6-3 loss against Class AA No. 10 Calhoun, the Class AAAAA’s fifth-ranked squad has reeled off 8 wins in its last nine games and jumped Ola for the fifth spot after the Mustangs lost 3-2 to McIntosh Tuesday. Coach Rod Pipkin’s Wolverines outscored its last two opponents — Drew and Jones County — by a combined score of 27-0. Union Grove plays host to top-ranked Whitewater next Thursday in a game that has region title implications.