RINGGOLD, Ga. — Though the game meant little in the Region 6-AAA standings, Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe’s 1-0 softball win Tuesday at Ringgold was just the boost Tony Ellis’s squad was looking for.

Ringgold (20-8, 8-1), with a game Thursday against Southeast Whitfield still to play, has clinched the top spot from the north sub-region heading into the region tournament, which begins Saturday at Dellinger Park in Cartersville. The Lady Tigers will receive a bye until the semifinals. LFO’s Lady Warriors (23-5, 8-2) are locked in as the north’s second seed.

Tuesday’s win featured LFO’s embarrassment of riches in the pitching circle. Three Lady Warriors hurlers — Jessica Penney, Monica Vickery and Maddie Bray — limited Ringgold to two hits, and Lindsey Lowe’s sixth-inning single plated the game’s only run.

“We have three pitchers who are all very good, and we’ll use them at any time,” Ellis said. “We were set on using all three today, and they all came through. Ringgold is a good-hitting ballclub. Lindsey Lowe got the big hit and defensively we played well. This was another classic LFO-Ringgold game.”

Penney, LFO’s senior ace, pitched the first three innings, striking out the first five Ringgold batters and allowing only Paige Smith’s two-out double in the third. Vickery and Bray, both sophomores, followed with two innings each. Vickery (7-0), who picked up the win, allowed only a walk, while Bray pitched around a walk and a hit in the sixth to earn the save.

“Tony’s young girls came in and did a great job for them,” Ringgold coach Vince Phillips said. “They made the plays when they needed to, and we didn’t.”

LFO left the bases loaded in the second against Ringgold ace Caty Sparks, who also pitched around a leadoff double in the fifth by Kayla Elswick before losing the scoreless tie in the sixth. D Elswick and Bray walked with one out, and Lowe followed with her RBI hit.

“It’s a nice way to go into the region tournament,” Ellis said. “Caty Sparks is as good as it gets. This game gives us a little more confidence going into the tournament.”

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