Dudley Little League softball all-stars fall short in state finals

Dudley Little League’s 10-12 softball all-stars suffered two heartbreaking losses to Harris County Tuesday night in the Georgia state finals.

By Clay Reynolds & Janice Ballard

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Sports

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July 10, 2024

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It was a heartbreaking ending in the finals of the Georgia state tournament Tuesday night for Dudley Little League’s 10-12 softball all-stars, whose bid to advance to the Southeast Regional was denied by Harris County in two close losses, 8-7 and 6-3.

They entered the afternoon just a win away from clinching the state crown, and with a 7-5 lead heading into the final half inning of their first game, needed only three more outs. But Harris, which scored two in the fifth to cut Dudley’s four-run lead in half, conjured a last-chance rally for two runs to tie, both on an RBI triple by Lacie Watts, then a third on the walk-off infield single of Peyton Brummitt.

Dudley took an early 3-0 lead in the winner-take-all “if” game, before Harris County struck for all six of its runs in the bottom half of the second inning to go on top for good. Its pitcher, Karlie Karr, wouldn’t allow another run in the four remaining innings.

Harris County will represent Georgia in the Southeast Regional, with a shot at advancing to the Little League World Series, starting a week from Saturday in Warner Robins.

Photos by Janice Ballard

Authors

Clay has headed up the Sports Desk since 2020, but his background at The Courier Herald – as a virtual jack of all trades – covers close to 15 years in a variety of full- and part-time roles since breaking in as a student intern during high school in 2010. The Dublin native, a proud alum of the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, has received numerous Georgia Press Association awards for his writing, photography and editing, including first-place honors recognizing the paper’s sports section in 2022, and its annual Heart of Georgia Football preview in 2023. In addition to reading his area sports coverage, you can also hear him on the radio as a local play-by-play voice, host of 92.7 WKKZ’s “Tailgate Party” and occasional contributor to the Georgia Southern Sports Network.

If there’s anything Janice enjoys more than photography, it’s frequenting Laurens County’s many social and sporting events. She’s been doing both for more than 10 years as a Courier Herald contributor, tasked with capturing the many moments that make life in our community special. The Dudley resident regularly documents local athletic contests and holiday festivities, while always keeping an eye out for unexpected photo opportunities along the way. During summertime, you can usually catch her near the home-plate backstops at Dudley Little League ballfields enjoying a Sno Biz or cinnamon pretzel while shooting the youth baseball and softball action.