COLUMBUS — Gwinnett County’s four representatives at the state softball tournament — Buford, Collins Hill, Grayson and Providence Christian — all had plenty of history with the sport’s annual showcase event.
And all added to it in this year’s tournament at the South Commons Softball Complex.
But with state titles in their respective classifications, Buford and Collins Hill each made another lasting mark in what is becoming a championship legacy for both programs.
“It’s really been special,” Buford coach Tony Wolfe said following a 9-0 win over Rockmart in the Class AA title game, which secured the Wolves’ third straight championship. “For a lot of these (girls), that’s all they know.”
For Wolfe, who was in his first season as coach when Buford won the 2007 title, the four seniors and the majority of the eight juniors on this year’s team, it’s next to impossible to remember what a varsity season that didn’t end with a championship is like.
That streak was put in its most serious jeopardy after the Wolves lost their first game in three straight trips to Columbus — a 2-0 setback to Rockmart — in Buford’s first shot at the title Saturday.
However, Alysha Rudnik’s solo home run in the top of the first set the tone for the Wolves to rebound and keep their string of championships alive with a 9-0 win in the second game.
“We’re just so blessed,” said Rudnik, a senior catcher who finished with six hits, including three doubles and a homer, and four RBIs in five tournament games. “I’m just so happy. I think this is one of the best memories so far. My senior year, for me and the other seniors to leave that legacy, I’m so happy.”
For several individual players, such as Rudnik and junior pitcher/outfielder Karly Fullem, the Wolves’ run of domination is even more special.
Before the 2007 title, Buford had never won a state championship in a girls sport. The school now has four of them, with the third softball title combining with the girls basketball title won in the spring by a team that also included Rudnik and Fullem.
“It’s a wonderful feeling,” said Fullem, who added she won’t be coming back to the basketball team this winter, but had a big tournament last weekend with 19 shutout innings on just six hits with 25 strikeouts, plus four hits and six RBIs at the plate. “It’s a different team coming together every year. ... Hopefully, we’ll come back again this year.”
If history is any indication, there will be a team from Region 7 playing for the Class AAAAA title again next year.
Collins Hill’s championship run through the elimination bracket — culminating with a 14-1, 4-1 sweep of Houston County to avenge its only loss of the tournament — was the Eagles’ second in their third trip to the finals since 2005.
It also continued a run of at least one Gwinnett County team in the finals dating back to Brookwood’s state runner-up finish in 2004, and a run of five straight seasons with a Region 7-AAAAA team in the finals — including last year’s title by Mill Creek and Peachtree Ridge’s runner-up finish in 2007.
“I think our region is one of the best around,” Eagles coach Billy Dooley said. “Every game is competitive. It means you’re playing competitive ball all the time. That helps (prepare teams for the tournament atmosphere) a lot.”
However, the Eagles can be forgiven if they focused on their own legacy, rather than that of the region’s, after Saturday’s courageous run.
That is particularly true for five seniors who were in the program for Collins Hill’s last championship appearance — the runner-up finish in 2006 — and who were eager to return the program to the top.
Included in that senior class were Sammy Lenahan, who had two triples and five RBIs Saturday, including the bases-clearing triple in the bottom of the sixth of the title game that put the Eagles ahead to stay, and Kacey Hawkshead, who finished an outstanding career with a four-inning victory in the first championship game.