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By keeping is own softball playoff streak alive, Dunwoody ended another one Oct. 3 in the Region 6-AAAA tournament at Marist.

The Wildcats qualified for the state tournament for the third straight season with an 11-6 win over Southwest DeKalb. After a 3-9 start, the Wildcats have won eight of their past 10 games through the first round of the region tournament. The loss kept the Panthers from advancing to the state tournament after six straight appearances.

Elyse Ferguson leads the Wildcats on offense with a .500 batting average. On the mound, Stacy Ward carried a 3.65 earned run average into the region playoffs and had 78 strikeouts in 71 innings pitched.

In the other Region 6-AAAA game on Oct. 3, Chamblee defeated Tucker 9-1 to earn a berth in the state tournament for the second year in a row. Aijah Crockett hit a home run and had two RBIs to lead the Bulldogs. Crockett, with three homers on the season, has hit home runs in two straight games and is batting .600.

Marist and Lakeside finished first and second in 6-AAAA in the regular season and received first round byes in the region tournament, which ends Oct. 6. The pair also automatically qualify for the state tournament.

For Marist, Ashlyn Johns went 6-for-6 in the final two regular-season games—wins over Southwest DeKalb and Chamblee—and Grace Packer was the winning pitcher in both.

Lakeside ended the regular season with six shutouts in its final 11 regular season games and is led by Marie Collop and Susanne Boden. Collop is 10-1 with a 1.65 ERA and boasts a .627 batting average with 39 RBIs. Boden leads the county with a .767 batting average, and has four home runs and 32 RBIs.

St. Pius is the only other team in DeKalb County to qualify for state. The Golden Lions beat Cedar Grove 15-0 in three innings and Riverwood 12-0 in the 5-AAA tournament to qualify for state. The 5-AAA tournament also ends Oct. 6.

Against Cedar Grove, St. Pius’ Rebecca Ponce de Leon struck out nine batters and allowed one hit.

The Golden Lions carry momentum into the state tournament, having won six of their past seven games through the Riverwood contest. The marquee feat during that span was a 2-0 win over rival Marist. Ponce de Leon struck out nine and Natasha Sherrod drove in both runs with the Golden Lions’ only hit of the game.