Sports Editor

Their goal was to finish first, but they'll have to settle for second, thanks to Newnan.

The Upson-Lee Lady Knights' softball team had no trouble with Taylor Co. and Mary Persons in last weekend's U-L Region Rally, but Newnan gave them fits.

Friday night the Lady Knights got out to an early lead and held on as they knocked off Taylor Co. 1-0 in the first game of the tournament.

Upson-Lee's Jesse Larson led off the game by reaching on an error and scored two batters later as Jacinda Griffin reached on an error.

That's all the run support U-L pitcher Amanda Daniel needed.

Daniel pitched six shutout innings as she gave up just one hit on two walks while striking out 13. U-L freshman Ashton Hewitt closed out the win for the Lady Knights as she pitched one inning giving up no runs on one hit with one strike out.

Daniel, Hewitt and Jessica Bagwell led the Lady Knights offensively with one hit each.

The Lady Knights fell to 1-1 in the tournament Saturday afternoon as the Newnan Cougars handed them a 4-0 loss.

Newnan broke a 0-0 tie in the top of the fourth inning as they took advantage of two hits and two Upson-Lee errors to score four runs.

And the Lady Knights' offense never got going. Newnan's defense held the Lady Knights to no hits and just two walks in the game.

Daniel pitched all six innings for the Lady Knights as she gave up four runs on three hits, no walks and recorded nine strike outs.

The Lady Knights earned a spot in the tournament championship game with a 4-1 win over Mary Persons in Saturday's second game.

The Lady Knights got out to an early 1-0 lead as Natalie Alverson reached on an error and later scored on a Jacinda Griffin single.

Mary Persons took advantage of three Upson-Lee errors to tie the game at 1-1 in the top of the second inning.

But it was all Upson-Lee from there.

The Lady Knights took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth inning as Amanda Daniel, Khadija Searcy and Jesse Larson started the inning with back-to-back-to-back singles and Kristen Mills followed with a one-out single two batters later.

Daniel and Hewitt were able to take care of things from there. Daniel pitched six innings giving up one run on one hit and no walks while recording eight strike outs while Hewitt pitched one inning giving up no runs on one hit, no walks while recording one strike out.

Larson led the Lady Knights offensively with two hits while Mills, Griffin, Daniel and Searcy followed with one hit each.

The Newnan Cougars made it a clean sweep for the tournament as they knocked off Upson-Lee 3-0 in the tournament championship game Saturday afternoon.

Newnan scored two runs in the bottom of the third inning and another in the bottom of the sixth to take the win.

Daniel pitched all six innings for the Lady Knights giving up three runs on five hits and no walks while recording eight strike outs.

Daniel and Khadija Searcy led the Lady Knights offensively with one hit each.

"I thought the girls did a great job in the tournament," Upson-Lee head coach Michelle Totty said. "Newnan gave us two tough losses but I kept having to remind myself that they are a 5-A school. They battled with them in both games but they played well overall. We really didn't hit the ball well until we played against Mary Persons. That was the win that put us playing in the championship game. Against Newnan we didn't hit that well but I felt like we were able to make better contact the second game and we started executing our bunts better. Defense did great in all games. I know the first time we played Newnan we did make some errors, which hurt, but we played hard. I changed my line up and infield some but overall I felt the girls adjusted well and still played to their potential."

With a second place finish in their own tournament under their belts, the Lady KNights now get to turn their attention to making the region tournament at season's-end and to do that they must win some crucial games down the stretch.

After splitting two subregion games last week, a 10-2 win over Dutchtown and a 4-0 loss to Eagle's Landing, the Lady Knights are currently the third place team from their subregion and fifth overall in region play. They must finish fourth or better in subregion play to advance to the region tournament.

The Lady Knights' region tournament hopes depends on how they will do over a four-game stretch the final two weeks of the season, a stretch that has them playing the No. 1 team in the state, Stockbridge, twice. It also includes Griffin, a team the Lady Knights have already beaten, and Luella.

"Stockbridge is going to be tough," Coach Totty said. "I will be happy if we score against them because most teams haven't. I would love to have the win but all I ask is the girls play like they know how to and make the best of it. We need to beat Griffin and it would be great if we could split with Luella at home."

The Lady Knights are currently 6-4 in subregion play and travel to Locust Grove today as they face the No. 1 team in the state, Stockbridge, in their first match-up of the season. The Lady Knights return home next week as they host Stockbridge, Griffin and Luella to close out the season. The Lady KNights will host senior day October 7 in their season finale against Luella. Start time for all home games are 4:30 p.m. and will be played at the Upson-Lee High School softball complex.