The Pike Liberal Arts softball team cruised to a pair of wins over Lee-Scott Academy on Monday at Mendy Avant Field in Troy.

The Patriots qualified for the AISA State Tournament with the wins, 17-1 in the first game and 12-0 in the second.

Pike Liberal Arts head coach Wayne Grant said that team put a lot of extra work in hitting during practices leading up to Monday’s “must win” games, and is proud it paid off.

“We practiced Friday, Saturday and Sunday and spent a good portion of each day working on hitting drills,” Grant said. “We worked on staying down on the ball , driving tit and getting more power on it. We hit the ball really well today.”

In all, Pike pounded out 23 hits in two games.

In the circle, junior Ellie Barron pitched both games, and allowed just one run through nine innings of work.

Grant said that Barron has good control of her pitches and will be a valuable asset if the Patriots are to make a push for the AISA state title.

“She always throws the ball extremely well for us,” said Grant. “We work on hitting the corners of the plate and using different pitches. If Ellie stays healthy, I really believe that we can make some noise at the tournament.

Grant is a veteran of playoff runs, having been the head man for several state championship teams in football.

He said that some of the “old football techniques” come in handy as the season winds down.

“Before you an have a chance to win it, you have to get in,” said Grant. “Now that we are in we can concentrate on winning this thing. You have to stay focused and be ready at all times. I feel that we are..”

Pike Liberal Arts will travel to Fain Park in Montgomery on Thursday for the region tournament. The results of the region tourney set the seeds for the state tournament.

The Pats will face Glennwood at 4 p.m.