A trio of local softball teams will shoot for state softball titles in their respective classes today, as Central, Mt. Zion and Heard County are all still alive on the final day of the GHSA State Softball Tournament, while Bremen saw its season come to an end Friday evening.

In Class AAA, the No. 4 and top-seeded Lady Lions (30-8) suffered their first setback of the tournament, dropping a 7-0 decision to top-ranked and five-time defending state champion Buford (31-3).

Central will now play No. 2 Ringgold at 10 this morning at the Columbus Softball Complex for the right to move into the championship.

The winner of the Central/Ringgold contest will have to beat Buford twice to capture the Class AAA state crown.

Class AA

Top-ranked and second-seeded Heard County (32-6) kept its state championship hopes alive with a pair of wins on Friday, knocking off Harlem in the opener, 4-1, and hanging on for a 4-3 victory over Bremen, as the Lady Blue Devils rallied back from a 4-0 deficit and had the bases loaded when Heard recorded the final out in the seventh.

Bremen, which beat Vidalia, 8-3, in the opener has nothing to hang its head about, finishing in fourth place in Class AA with an overall record of 25-9 for the year.

Heard County moves on to face Wesleyan this morning at 9:40, with the winner moving on to the championship against Dade County at 11:40 a.m. Should the Lady Braves reach the finals, they would have to defeat Dade County twice to win their first state title in program history.

Wesleyan beat Heard County on Thursday evening, 9-3, to knock it into the loser’s bracket.

Class A

Mt. Zion (22-13) dropped a 14-6 decision to Georgia Military College (20-9) on Friday night, moving the Lady Eagles into an elimination showdown against Region 6-A rival and top-ranked Gordon Lee (32-3) at 9:20 a.m. today.

Should MZ knock off the Lady Trojans, it would have to take down GMC twice to win the public school state title in Class A.