LAWRENCEVILLE — With a trip to the final rounds of the state playoffs in Columbus on the line, the Archer fastpitch softball team delivered in a big way Tuesday night.

The host Tigers rolled to a 14-2 victory over Dacula in Game 3 of their best-of-three series, and advanced to Columbus next week as one of eight teams left in the Class AAAAAA bracket. They open the Elite Eight against defending state champion East Coweta at 11 a.m. on Oct. 29.

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Archer (24-5) won Game 1 of its Sweet 16 series 9-8 in a thriller, but Dacula responded with a 16-8 victory on Monday to force the Game 3 showdown. The decisive game wasn’t close as the Tigers did their usual offensive work and winning pitcher Cayleigh Curinton held a potent Dacula lineup in check.


Curinton pitched four innings and gave up two runs on five hits. She also was 1-for-2 with a pair of RBIs.

Archer backed her pitching up with plenty of offense, led by Mariah Maze’s 2-for-2 game with a home run and three RBIs.

Jordyn Lewis (2-for-3), Alexis Evans (2-for-3), Mia Johnson (2-for-2, three RBIs) and Caylee Lawson (2-for-3) also had multi-hit games, while Lily Rodriguez (1-for-3, two RBIs), Kaivi Merritt (1-for-1, home run) and Addison Smith (1-for-3) also contributed at the plate.

Dacula finishes its season with a 22-13 record.