With a challenging Region 7-AAA slate looming, the North Hall Lady Trojans are giving their coach plenty to be happy about. Following back-to-back shutouts last week, they won their third straight by a wide margin Tuesday, knocking off visiting Johnson, 9-1, in six innings.

“I’m pleased right now with the way we’re playing heading into region,” North Hall coach Brooke Russell said. “If we keep playing the way we are right now, I think we’ll have a lot of really competitive games coming up.”

Georgia High School Association realignment slotted North Hall in the same region with five-time defending state champion Buford (No. 1), as well as eighth-ranked Dawson County and 10th-ranked Fannin County. Through the first 10 days of the season, six of the region’s eight teams have records of .500 or better, which is why it will be important for the Lady Trojans (5-4) to be at the top of their game when region play opens next week.

On Tuesday, North Hall seemed to be at its best.

The Lady Trojans slapped nine hits, stole four bases and benefitted from six Johnson errors while riding a strong effort in the pitcher’s circle from sophomore Kaitlin Edwards and solid defense behind her.

Edwards breezed through the early portions of the game before showing signs of fatigue later. She yielded only one run on three hits and four walks while striking out eight in a 92-pitch complete game.

“I was pleased with her effort,” Russell said, “and with the effort of the defense behind her when she did start to wear down a little.”

Clean-up hitter Harper Seymour stood out at the plate, hitting the ball well in each of her four appearances. She drove in the game’s first run with a hard-hit single back up the middle in the first inning, drove in another run with a nearly identical hit in the third, and finished the game by driving in two on a towering triple in the bottom of the sixth. She also plated another run when a Johnson outfielder couldn’t cleanly field a smash line drive in the fifth inning.

“She’s just a sophomore,” Russell said of Seymour. “She’s one of those ideal athletes every coach wants on their team. She’s worked hard in the offseason and she loves the game, and it’s paying off for her.”

Staked to a 1-0 lead, Edwards cruised through the early innings, retiring first nine Lady Knights (0-4) she faced on six strikeouts before Johnson’s Helen Neese broke through with a sharply hit single in the fourth.

By then, the Lady Trojans had added three more runs, thanks to singles from Jordyn Porter, Seymour and Ellie Forrester.

They scored three more in the fifth before Seymour’s triple ended the game an inning later.

Johnson was led offensively by Neese (2 for 3) and Bailey Beard (1 for 3). Rachel Matthew scored the Lady Knights’ only run, taking home on a double steal.

For North Hall, Seymour finished 3 for 4 with four RBIs, Forrester went 3 for 3 with two RBIs, and Porter went 2 for 4 with two runs and two stolen bases.

The Lady Knights open their Region 8-AAAA schedule at 5:30 p.m. Thursday when they host Eastside.

North Hall visits Dawson County at 5:55 p.m. on Tuesday.