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MAGEE — After a stunning upset win over Simpson Academy in the first round of the 2024 MAIS Class 5A State Tournament at the Magee Sports Complex, the Cathedral High School Lady Green Wave lost its next two games last Saturday afternoon to be eliminated from this double-elimination tournament.

“We played three great games on Saturday. Unfortunately, we came up one run short in the last two games,” Cathedral head coach Craig Beesley said.

In the first game of the day, played at 12 p.m. on Field 8, the South No. 3 seed Cathedral Lady Green Wave used two big innings to upset the North No. 2 Simpson Academy Lady Cougars 13-3, even though Simpson Academy did just enough not to be run-ruled.

The Lady Green Wave jumped out to a 3-0 lead by the end of the second inning and still led the Lady Cougars 3-1 after three innings before putting up five runs in the top of the fourth inning.

“We were able to get a good lead on Simpson (Academy) in the fourth inning when we scored (those) five runs and just continued to add to that lead,” Beesley said.

With KG Fisher, Molly Shirley, and Hannah Hargon leading the way for Cathedral at the plate, the Lady Green Wave scored four more runs in the top of the sixth inning 12-1 lead. But Simpson Academy would not be run-ruled as the Lady Cougars scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 12-3 game.

The Lady Green Wave scored its final run of the game in the top of the seventh. Hargon, the No. 8 batter in the line-up who also pitched the bottom of the seventh inning, went 2-for-3 with a double, three runs batted in, and two runs scored. Fisher, the No. 2 batter in the line-up, was 2-for-4 with a double, three RBIs, and one run scored. Shirley, the No. 6 batter in the line-up, was 2-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Fisher and Hargon were also walked once.

Anna Arthur, the No. 9 batter in the line-up, went 1-for-3 with a double, two RBIs, and one run scored. Winning pitcher Lily Crum helped her own cause by going 1-for-3 with a double, one RBI, and one run scored while also being walked twice.

Crum went six innings and gave up three runs, all of them earned, on four hits with seven strikeouts and four walks. Hargon gave up just one hit in her one inning of relief. As a team, Cathedral had 11 total base hits.

That advanced the Lady Green Wave in the winners’ bracket, where they faced a familiar opponent in the South No. 1 seed and defending Class 5A state champion Parklane Academy Lady Pioneers in a 4 p.m. game on Field 6.

And just like their meeting a week earlier at the South State Tournament, Parklane Academy came away with a 1-0 win over Cathedral. The Lady Pioneers scored the only run of the game in the bottom of the third inning.

“The Parklane game was dominated by pitching. Both teams only had three hits. Lily threw a complete game with only 67 pitches,” Beesley said.

Crum gave up one earned run on three hits with four strikeouts and just one walk. Of the 67 pitches she threw in her six innings 52 of them were for strikes. The problem was the Lady Green Wave faced Parklane Academy senior pitcher AR Sharp, who was also on her ‘A’ game yet again — just like she was against Cathedral at South State. She finished with 10 strikeouts and, just like Crum, walked only one batter.

KG Fisher went 1-for-2 while leadoff hitter Madelyn Fielder and No. 7 hitter EC Lewis each went 1-for-3.

That loss dropped Cathedral to the losers’ bracket and a showdown with yet another familiar opponent in the South No. 4 seed Oak Forest Academy Lady Yellow Jackets in a 6 p.m. match-up on Field 8.

But unlike the two previous meetings in which Cathedral had one-run wins over Oak Forest Academy at the South State Tournament, it was the Lady Yellow Jackets who turned the tables and defeated the Lady Green Wave by one run, 5-4 in nine innings to stay alive and knock Cathedral out of the tournament.

Oak Forest scored one run each off of Crum in the top second, third, and fourth innings to take a 3-0 lead. But Cathedral responded with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to close the deficit to 3-2 and one run in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at 3-all and send the game into extra innings.

“We made a great comeback in the Oak Forest game in the last three innings to take the game into extra innings,” Beesley said. “It was a very intense game. We played defense along with great pitching. We played great, but we just came up a little short at the end.”

Both teams scored one run in the eighth inning and then the Lady Yellow Jackets scored what turned out to be the game-winning run in the top of the ninth.

Oak Forest Academy somehow won the game despite being out-hit by Cathedral 10 to seven and the Lady Green Wave not committing any errors.

Crum went all nine innings for the Lady Green Wave on the mound. She threw 143 pitches with 92 of them for strikes. She allowed five runs, all of them earned, on seven hits with four strikeouts and three walks. However, she also uncharacteristically threw four wild pitches.

Leadoff hitter Madelyn Fielder was the only multiple hitter for the Lady Green Wave as she went 3-for-5. Surprisingly, though, she did not drive in any runs nor did she score any runs.

KG Fisher went 1-for-4 with two RBIs and Liza Gregg was 1-for-3 with one RBI. Crum tried to help her own cause by going 1-for-4 with a double and one run scored. Molly Shirley was 1-for-2 with one RBI and was walked twice. EC Lewis was 1-for-3 while Hannah Hargon was 1-for-3, was walked once, and scored two runs. Anna Arthur went 1-for-2 with one run scored.

While Cathedral came up a few wins short of winning both the Class 5A South State Championship and the State Championship, the Lady Green Wave finished with an overall record of 27-7.

“It has been a great year for us. Especially these last two weeks,” Beesley said. “Every game we played has been close and exciting.”