Johns Creek's hold on first place in Region 7-AAAAAA softball is gone.
Lanier blanked the Lady Gladiators 2-0 at Johns Creek on Thursday, Oct. 1, snapping the team's unbeaten run through region play. The loss dropped Johns Creek to 18-5 overall, according to MaxPreps, and pulled Lanier into a tie for first in the region standings.
Sophia Roche delivered the decisive blow for the Longhorns, driving in both runs with a two-run double in the top of the fifth inning, as the Gwinnett Daily Post reported. Johns Creek collected five hits but could not score.
The defeat stings. Head coach Jim Ernst's squad had taken sole possession of first place only two days earlier with an 11-8, nine-inning win at Riverwood on Sept. 29. That extra-inning victory capped a stretch that pushed the Lady Gladiators' win total to new heights for the program.
Johns Creek set the school's single-season wins record earlier this fall, according to Johns Creek Athletics, when a 6-4 home win over Lanier on Sept. 15 gave the team its 16th victory. The Lady Gladiators have added to that mark since, winning 18 games through Oct. 1.
Still, the region race is now a scramble. Both Johns Creek and Lanier sit tied at the top, one game ahead of Milton and Riverwood, with the GHSA deadline to complete region play set for Oct. 8.
Johns Creek has two region games left. The Lady Gladiators host Gainesville on Tuesday, Oct. 6, then welcome Milton on Thursday, Oct. 8. The Milton game could determine the final region seeding heading into the state playoffs.
Before those matchups, Johns Creek travels to Forsyth Central on Monday, Oct. 5, for a non-region contest at 6:30 p.m.
