Lacey Fritz hit a 3-run homer and broke open a close game against Gordon Central, and Woodland claimed its final game of the regular season on Tuesday, 8-2.

The Lady Wildcats (24-4, 6-2 in Region 7A-AAAA) were leading the Lady Warriors (7-15-1) by a 2-1 score at the midway point of the fourth inning when Fritz got all of the ball and sent it over the center field fence, scoring Olivia Rutledge and Diana Wimpy, who scored Woodland's first run in the bottom of the first with a home run herself.

Woodland finished the season with a second-place record in Region 7A-AAAA and plays Saturday at 11 a.m. at Twin Fields in Woodstock in a battle of the subregion's 2 through 5 teams to determine the region's number 3 and 4 seeds.

Cass, the number 3 team in the subregion, also will play on Saturday with hopes of advancing as well, along with Northwest Whitfield and Rome.

"I'm proud of our girls tonight," head coach Colman Roberts said. "It was senior night and they had a lot of things on their mind but they put them aside and got a win."

He said 24 wins is something to be proud of but the Lady Wildcats now need to focus on their goal of playing in Columbus.

"Our goal is to go to state and you can just set aside our regular season record now," he said. "We're 0-0. That's how we are going to approach our game Saturday."

The Lady Wildcats had their hands full early against Gordon Central.

The Lady Warriors had scored in the top of the first with some aggressive baserunning.

Maci Mills, also Gordon Central's pitcher, had coaxed a walk out of Woodland then stole second and took third on a sacrifice.

She went home on a single by Shawnda Martin.

Wimpy answered for Woodland in the bottom of the frame with a home run over the center field wall.

The Lady Wildcats took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third when Rutledge reached on an error and eventually scored on a sacrifice by Fritz.

Woodland struck again in the fourth when Fritz hit her dramatic home run and the Lady Wildcats took a comfortable lead.

Gordon Central closed the margin to 5-2 in the top of the fifth by loading the bases and scoring on a single.

Emily Clay quickly extinguished that fire, closing the frame with consecutive outs and she kept the Lady Warriors from scoring again. She struck out nine in her evening's work.

Casey Bucy and Cheyanne Burt scored Woodland's final two runs of the night in the bottom of the sixth.

The Lady Wildcats garnered five hits on the evening, including Wimpy's solo homer and a double, Fritz's homer, Erin Hitchcock's double and Rutledge's double.