Pool standings
Red Pool
W L
White County 1 0
Commerce 1 0
Hart County 1 1
Gainesville 0 2
White Pool
West Hall 1 0
Gilmer 1 1
East Hall 1 1
Flowery Branch 0 1
Blue Pool
Habersham Central 1 0
Dawson County 2 0
Chestatee 0 1
Rabun County 0 2
Gold Pool
Union County 2 0
Blessed Trinity 1 1
North Hall 0 1
Wesleyan 0 1
Friday’s scores
Blessed Trinity 1, North Hall 0
Commerce 10, Gainesville 0
Dawson County 8, Chestatee 0
Dawson County 8, Rabun County 0
East Hall 5, Gilmer 4
Gilmer 13, Flowery Branch 9
Habersham Central 16, Rabun County 2
Hart County 15, Gainesville 1
Union County 1, Blessed Trinity 0
Union County 6, Wesleyan 2
West Hall 1, East Hall 0
White County 7, Hart County 3
Saturday’s schedule
North Hall vs. Wesleyan, 8 a.m.
Habersham County vs. Chestatee, 8 a.m.
East Hall vs. Flowery Branch, 8 a.m.
White County vs. Commerce, 8 a.m.
Blessed Trinity vs. Wesleyan, 9:30 a.m.
Rabun County vs. Chestatee, 9:30 a.m.
West Hall vs. Gilmer County, 9:30 a.m.
White County vs. Gainesville, 9:30 a.m.
North Hall vs. Union County, 11 a.m.
Dawson County vs. Habersham County, 11 a.m.
West Hall vs. Flowery Branch, 11 a.m.
Hart County vs. Commerce, 11 a.m.
Silver Division
First round, 12:30 p.m.
Semifinals, 3:30 p.m.
Finals, 6:30 p.m.
Gold Division
First round, 2 p.m.
Semifinals, 5 p.m.
Finals, 8 p.m.
White County opened its defense of the Class AAA title with a win Friday, knocking off Hart County 7-3 as part of a full slate of games at the 10th annual Lanier Point Invitational held at Lanier Point Park.
Pool play got under way with 12 games Friday and resumes at 8 a.m. today. Bracket play is set to begin at 12:30 p.m. and conclude with the Gold Division finals at 8 p.m.
The 16-team field is divided into four pools; the top two from each pool earn spots in the Gold Division, while the No. 3 and 4 seeds will play out the tournament in the Silver Division.
Despite a somewhat shaky start, the Lady Warriors took their first step toward clinching a top seed in the Red Pool thanks to a strong performance from pitcher Callie McDonald.
The senior earned the win on the mound, yielding five hits and three runs — all of which came in the second inning — in a five-inning, complete-game effort. She also punctuated White County’s six-run second inning with a two-run double.
After the Lady Warriors took a 1-0 lead without the benefit of a hit in the first inning, Hart County stormed back in the top half of the second.
The Lady Bulldogs strung together five straight hits, including a pair of bunts and an infield pop that went unfielded, and scored three runs before the McDonald retired the last two batters to get out of the inning.
The Lady Warrior defense settled in afterward, and McDonald didn’t allow a hit the rest of the way.
Meanwhile, the White County offense did its part. In the second inning, Morgan Sullens roped a double into the right-field gap to bring home Aubrie Gstalder and eventually tied the game at 3-3 when she scored on Kristen Mullis’ sacrifice bunt.
But the Lady Warriors weren’t done. After Sarabeth Cummins singled and Lindsey Whitmire reached on an error, McDonald’s double, which short-hopped the fence in left, brought both runners home, putting White County ahead for good.
The Lady Warriors, who won the first state title in the school’s history last season under coach John Brown, were playing their first game under new coach Beth Kimsey.
In the Blue Pool, Dawson County has clinched its spot in the Gold Bracket with wins over Chestatee (8-0) and Rabun County (8-0).
Union County, coming off a trip to the state finals last season, opened with wins over Blessed Trinity (1-0) and Wesleyan (6-2), to clinch one of the top two seed from the Gold Pool.