The Richmond Hill softball team beat Effingham 3-2 at home Thursday to capture the Region 2-AAAAAA regular season title. The Wildcats now get a bye into the finals of the region tournament in two weeks.

Richmond Hill beat Effingham 4-2 at home Monday night, then lost to the Rebels on their home field 5-0 Wednesday, giving each team one loss in the region and setting up Thursday’s showdown.

Sophomore catcher Hannah Fitzgerald settled it with one swing of the bat when she put a solo homerun over the leftfield fence to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning. Richmond Hill had scored twice in the first inning, then gave up two runs to Effingham in the top of the sixth.

“Hannah is our three hitter for a reason,” Wildcat Coach Angie Hummeldorf said. “She’s been a strong bat all year.”

Hummeldorf said the team knew the series this week against Effingham would be tough.

“Those were very competitive games,” she said. “I knew we had to take at least two out of three.”

Adriana Garrett went 3-for-3 at the plate for the Wildcats, while Alaina Lucas picked up the win on the mound.

Hummeldorf also said the team appreciated the fan support.

“It was a great crowd, especially with the football and baseball teams there cheering us on.”

Richmond Hill finishes the regular season with a home game at 6 p.m. Friday against Brunswick. Former basketball and softball coach Dave Giddens will be honored before the game and throw out the first pitch.