By Kevin Eckleberry

kevin.eckleberry@lagrangenews.com

LAGRANGE – After playing two thrillers, the LaGrange and Troup softball teams are ready for Round 3.

On Aug. 5, Troup and LaGrange met for the first time in the Hope for a Day Classic.

Troup fell behind 8-3, but it rallied for the 9-8 victory, with Skye Loftin delivering the game-winning hit in the bottom of the seventh inning.

On Aug. 22, the teams met again, this time in a Region 5-AAAA showdown.

LaGrange was down 3-1 through two innings, but it scored two runs in the sixth inning to take the lead, and it held on for a 6-5 victory.

Today, LaGrange and Troup will meet for a third time, and it is a critical game as both teams fight for region position.

LaGrange (11-6 overall) is 4-2 in the region, and it sits in second place, one game behind Central-Carroll.

Troup (9-8 overall), after losing both ends of a doubleheader to Cartersville on Saturday, is 4-4 in the region and in fifth place.

Troup has four region games remaining, and LaGrange has six left, so both teams can still either move up or down before the region tournament.

LaGrange is coming off a big 8-4 region win over Cedartown last week.

The Lady Grangers trailed 4-0 through five innings, but they scored four runs in each of the final two innings to secure the win.

Before that, LaGrange lost 2-1 to Central-Carroll, but it was an encouraging effort against a team that won a state championship a year ago.

LaGrange coach Gabby Heath’s message to her players is that they’re capable of playing with and beating anyone in the region.

“We talked about coming in and having the mindset of, there’s nobody better,” Heath said after the Central-Carroll game. “Because everybody in the region is so equal. It’s really a toss-up. It’s whoever shows up that day and makes the least amount of mistakes.”

While LaGrange comes into the game on the heels of a come-from-behind win over Cedartown, Troup is having to bounce back from a difficult day against Cartersville.

After losing the opener 4-2, Troup lost 7-0 in the second game.

Troup still has plenty of time to climb the ladder with four region games in the next eight days.

Despite struggling on Saturday, the Lady Tigers have enjoyed a successful season at the plate, and they’ll look to keep that going today.

Before losing to Cartersville, Troup had scored 13 or more runs in four out of five games. That included a 14-8 region win over Cedartown.

“Offensively, our focus is line drives and hit it hard on the ground,” Troup coach Mason Brackett said.

Callaway’s softball team won’t play again until Tuesday when it visits Lamar County for a Region 5-AA game.

Callaway is 0-3 in the region following last week’s 4-3 home loss to Temple.