RINGGOLD - Never in the history of the North Georgia Athletic Conference had a No. 7 seed ever won a single softball tournament game.

Which makes what Chattanooga Valley Middle School accomplished this past week that much more incredible.

The Lady Eagles, who entered the tournament as a No. 7 seed, picked off the tournament's top three teams and finished up with a sweep of regular season champion Heritage to win the NGAC tournament title on Saturday.

"It's just unbelievable," said CVMS coach Christy Harden. "There's almost no words to describe it. I'm just very proud of them. They really bore down this week and worked hard."

On Tuesday, the Lady Eagles stunned No. 2 seed Gordon Lee, 2-1, behind a nine-hit, three-strikeout outing from pitcher Becca Templeton.

Two days later, Templeton allowed just three hits and fanned nine as CVMS shocked No. 3 seed LaFayette, 3-0, in a semifinal matchup. Abby McKinney's two-out, three-run triple in the fourth inning gave Templeton all the run support she would need.

On Friday, playing at home in the first game of a best-of-three set with top-seeded Heritage, Templeton was solid again. She scattered five hits and struck out three in a 4-0 victory.

All four runs came in the bottom of the sixth inning. McKinney plated two with a hit while Alexis Dockery and Shelby Epperson each drove in a run.

The scene shifted to Heritage on Saturday morning in what turned out to be a wild affair in Game 2.

CVMS struck for four runs in the top of the fourth, two on a hit by McKinney, to help stake the Lady Eagles to a 5-0 lead.

The Lady Generals rallied to tie the game at 5-5, only to see a five-run outburst by CVMS in the top of the sixth. Dockery had the biggest hit with a two-run double while Kayla Hughes and Ally Johnson each drove in a run.

Heritage would get four of the runs back in the bottom of the inning against Hughes, who started for the Lady Eagles.

Templeton would allow two two-out base runners in the bottom of the seventh, but left them stranded to seal the championship for her team.

It was the first NGAC softball championship for the Lady Eagles in five years, and it may not be the last. CVMS is one of the league's youngest teams with only three eighth-graders on the roster.

"We struggled to hit the ball at the start of the season," Harden said. "But these last four or five games, everyone in the lineup has come through for us. Not only has the offense picked up, but we've picked it up on defense too. And what can you say about Becca? She's just been lights out in the circle."

Templeton was later named as the tournament's Most Valuable Player.