Lady Jackets sweep Bleckley in playoffs

By Editor | October 29, 2025 |

Jeff Davis High’s softball team easily disposed of Bleckley County last Wednesday in the opening round of the 2025 Georgia High School Association State Playoffs.
While the Royals came into the contest with a better record at 18-5, their schedule was not as tough as was the 20-10 Lady Jackets’ and it showed as Jeff Davis won 5-0 and 14-3.
This week, Coach Brooke Taylor’s squad, now 22-10, has a bigger task as they play 24-5 Bremen in Bremen. The Lady Blue Devils are seeded No. 2 in the playoffs while the Lady Jackets are the No. 15 seed.
In the first game against Bleckley, Lady Jacket senior Carrie Ellen Arnold pitched a 2-hit, complete game shutout, fanning 13 Lady Royals along the way. She walked one and hit one batter
Arnold struck out at least 2 batters in each of the first 5 innings, striking out the side in the 2nd.
After 3 scoreless innings, JD got on the board in the bottom of the 4th when, with the bases loaded, Savanna Robinette hit a long fly ball that the centerfielder couldn’t handle as 2 runs scored.
Jeff Davis added 3 more runs in the fifth as Abbie Williams, Mattie Walsh and Madison Joyce opened the inning with consecutive singles, with Williams scoring on Joyce’s hit. Cori Mims then hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Walsh and Ava Bohannon’s hard-hit grounder to second proved too hot to handle as another run scored.
Walsh led Jeff Davis at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a trio of singles. Bohannon doubled and Williams, Joyce and Addison Giddens singled.
The Lady Jackets played as the visiting team in the second game and Bohannon got things started with a 2-out homer in the opening inning.
Giddens singled to start the second and scored on a Williams 2-out single to make it 2-0.
After Alaysia Coley homered for Bleckley to cut the score to 2-1, Joyce opened the 3rd with a walk followed by a Mims single. Bohannon stepped to the plate but the Royals intentionally walked her to load the bases. After Joyce scored on a passed ball, Giddens hit a line drive over the left field fence for 3 more runs and a 6-1 lead.
Bleckley wouldn’t go away quietly as they scored 2 in the bottom of the inning to get back within 3 at 6-3.
The Lady Jackets broke the game open in the 4th with 6 runs. A walk, consecutive singles by Mims, Bohannon, Claire Stinson and Giddens, another walk, a single by Alara McCall and the third walk of the inning made the score 11-3 with the bases still loaded and still no outs. Williams then drove home the 12th run with a sacrifice fly.
In the 5th, Stinson homered for the Lady Jackets’ 3rd round-tripper of the game to up the tally to 14-3.
Giddens went 3-for-4 with 2 singles, a homer and 4 RBI to lead Jeff Davis at the plate. Bohannon had a single, a homer and 3 RBI, Stinson had a single, a homer and 2 RBI, McCall had a pair of singles and 2 RBI, Mims singled twice, and Williams had a single, a sac fly and 2 RBI.
Anna Grace Alligood started on the mound and picked up the win. She went 2 1/3 innings, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits, 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. Arnold pitched the final 2 2/3 innings, blanking Bleckley on 2 hits, no walks and 3 strikeouts.
Score by innings:
BCHS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -0
JDHS 0 0 0 2 3 0 x -5