Lady Panthers one win from State
Union knocks off Oglethorpe 2-0 in first game of Region Playoffs
By TODD FORREST Sentinel Writer

The Union County Lady Panthers' (21-8) began their 2007 postseason with a 2-0 victory over Oglethorpe County in round one of the 8AA Region Playoffs in Clayton, Ga. April Harper picked up win number thirteen and shutout number nine after silencing the Oglethorpe bats over seven innings.

The Lady Panther bats came alive in the third inning after Brooklyn Swartz drew a walk and scored on a two out double from Kaitlyn Seabolt. Kaley Sullivan knocked in Seabolt to give the Lady Panthers a 2-0 lead, and with Harper on the mound, that would be all the offense that Union County would need to hang on.

Seabolt went 2 for 3 and and drove in the eventual game winning run, Whitney Kelley was 1 for 3, and Harper reached base all three times that she came to the plate. She singled in the second, reached on an error in the fourth and a fielder's choice in the sixth.

The next game of the Region Tournament will take place in Rabun County, on Thursday at 3:30. The Lady Panthers will be taking on the defending Region and State Champions, North Oconee. North Oconee defeated Union County last season 5-0 for the Region Title and return their star pitcher. However, in the meeting last season, Swartz pitched for the Panthers, so North Oconee has never faced Harper, while Union County has faced North Oconee's ace. "She throws hard and changes speeds well. But if we play good defense, it should be a close game," said Union County coach, Jessica Stewart about North Oconee's pitcher.

Coach Stewart also feels her team is confident for the biggest game of the year, thus far. "We are ready. We weren't looking past Oglethorpe County but we were really wanting to play North Oconee. The Lady Panthers have already upset one defending state champ this year when they shutout Class AAAA Sequoyah. "Sequoyah and North Oconee are pretty similar. North Oconee might be a little better but they are close," added Coach Stewart.

If the Lady Panthers win the 3:30 game on Thursday against North Oconee, they will play the winner of Morgan County/East Jackson at 7:30. If they lose the 3:30 game, the Lady Panthers will take on Dawson County at 5:30. Union County has not faced Morgan County this season but lost 1-0 and 2-1 to East Jackson. The Lady Panthers defeated Dawson County 8-1 and 4-1 earlier this year.

Lady Panthers blast Rebels 11-0 in regular season finale

Union County sent eleven batters to the plate during a seven run first inning at Fannin County last Thursday. That was more than enough run support for Billie Odom who pitched five innings of shut out ball to pick up her fourth win of the season. Brittany Massey-Lentz went 4 for 4 and drove in three runs, Kaitlyn Seabolt, and Kayla Gowder also drove in two runs each. The win over Fannin also gave the Lady Panthers back-to-back twenty win seasons.

During the Lady Panthers huge first inning, Massey-Lentz had a single, double, and two RBI's, Gowder drove in two runs with a double, Whitney Kelley, Seabolt, and Odom also added an RBI each.

In the top of the third Amanda Mason and Ashley Beltnick drew a walk and Brooklyn Swartz singled. All three of them would be driven in by Massey-Lentz and Seabolt. The Lady Panthers added an additional run in the fourth when Gowder reached on a fielder's choice and was followed by hits from Mason and Odom.