Boseman Delivers Big Win In Her First Ooltewah Start

Kayla Boseman woke Tuesday morning and had two thoughts – school and softball.

That’s a typical game day for her.

Which thought came first?

“Classwork,” she said.

Around 6:30 p.m., Boseman was all about softball.

And her debut as a starting pitcher ended in sweet triumph.

A 15-year-old freshman right-hander who already has a scholarship offer and is committed to Mississippi State, Boseman threw a four-hitter and got 10-hit support from teammates as Ooltewah knocked off Walker Valley, 5-2, Tuesday at Jim Lovell Field in the District 5-AAA opener for both teams.

Walker Valley annually battles Soddy-Daisy for district supremacy.

The Lady Mustangs have won 307 games over 14 years and has posted 20-win seasons every year dating to 2004.

“I wasn’t nervous,” Boseman said. “I thought I pitched well. My hitting wasn’t that good, though. My main focus was pitching because my teammates have been telling me what a good team Walker Valley is. My goal was to come out and throw strikes.”

That’s something Boseman has been doing since he started playing softball at 3 years of age.

She progressed through age-group years, stood out at Ooltewah Middle School and in summer ball with the Chattanooga Warriors 99, which is now the Chattanooga Falcons. This past fall she hooked up with the Birmingham (Ala.) Thunderbolts 99 and plans to play with the elite squad in the summer.

“I feel like the Bolts give me more experience against better competition and that’s best for my future,” Boseman said. “I can only get better as a player when I’m playing against upperclassmen. We have a very talented team full of athletic girls. I think only two girls have not made college commitments.”

Including Boseman, the Thunderbolts have 14 players who have made college commitments, 13 of which are to eight different major colleges – Auburn, Mississippi State, Texas, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina State.

The Thunderbolts are scheduled to participate in Chattanooga’s Scenic City Showcase in June.

“When I first visited Mississippi State in the fall, coach (Vann Stuedeman) introduced herself and I knew she’s a fun coach who cares about her girls and she’s, uh, goofy. I mean she likes to have fun. I toured campus, did a football game and just fell in love with the place. I said, ‘Hey, I’m going to give this a shot.’ ”

Boseman sent a text to Ooltewah softball coach Jon Massey the day she committed to the Lady Bulldogs and Massey said he had one reaction.

“Here’s a freshman who hasn’t thrown her first high school pitch and she’s accepted a college scholarship offer,” he said. “That’s pretty rare. It also catches you off guard. I predict she’s going to get more offers down the road.”

A day earlier, Massey said Tuesday’s assignment would be a “huge test” for Boseman, adding that if any pitcher doesn’t bring her ‘A’ game, she can get beat bad in a five-inning game.

As it turned out, Massey was thrilled and Stuedeman would have been impressed with Boseman’s effort against the Lady Mustangs.

Boseman, who struck out four in one inning – one strikeout victim reached on a passed ball – of work against Hixson on Monday, retired the first seven Lady Mustangs, four by strikeouts.

With one out in the third, Mackenzie Elrod ripped a single to right-center field that took one hop and hit the outfield fence. Boseman recorded her fifth strikeout and got Carly Frost on a come-backer to the mound.

Basically throttled for three innings, the Lady Mustangs (2-1, 0-1) changed tactics.

They started bunting.

Sydney Ventura reached on a bunt single to start the fourth and stole second. Hallie Davis moved Ventura to third with a sacrifice bunt and scored on Lara Bean’s sacrifice. A.J. Chancey flied out to left to end in the inning.

In the bottom half of the fourth, the Lady Owls (2-0, 1-0) got to Walker Valley pitcher Alicia Raymond for the game-changing four runs.

With one out, senior Allie Jones reach on an infield hit. Boseman ripped a single past third and both runners advanced on a wild pitch. After an infield popup, freshman Mabry Carpenter stroked a two-run double to left-center field to give the Lady Owls a 2-1 lead.

“That felt good to hit the ball that well and see all the excitement in the dugout,” Carpenter said. “That inning was big. We were all excited and Kayla was all hyped up when she was pitching. I’ve always heard Walker Valley has been a good team for a long time and I’m glad we beat them.”

Junior catcher Summer Williams followed Carpenter’s timely hit with a run-scoring single and Williams scored the fourth run when Bailey Kennedy slapped a double over Carly Frost’s head in right field.

Boseman again retired seven straight and induced Davis into an infield roller to start the seventh inning, but Ooltewah’s Shelby Sutton misplayed the ball and Davis was safe on the error.

Bean flipped a single to left.  Chancey’s line drive to left scored Davis and Bean wound up at second.

Two runners on – with none out – threatened the Lady Owls’ lead.

“After the second single, I needed to calm down, take a deep breath and I knew the defense had my back,” Boseman said. “I just needed to hit my spots.”

Boseman, who threw 53 pitches – 37 were strikes – in the first three innings and just 36 over the last four, got Emilee Spann with a fly ball to center. Raymond bounced out back to the mound and Mackenzie Elrod grounded out to third.

Game over.

“(Boseman) did well,” Walker Valley coach Lauren Limburg said. “She’s a little faster than we’re used to seeing around here. But our girls never gave up. They’re here from the first pitch to the last pitch and they’re about taking care of business. Sometimes it doesn’t go your way.”

Ooltewah’s fifth run came in the fifth inning when Allie Jones smacked a 2-2 pitch over the right-field fence, giving her two home runs in as many days. She belted a grand slam Monday night in Ooltewah’s 7-1 win over Hixson.

A day later, she went 2-for-3 and scored twice.

“I hope so,” the left-hand hitting Jones said when asked if she’s already in an early-season groove. “I’m pretty confident when I’m at the plate. I go up there for base hits and the home runs just come along.”

Jones and Kennedy were the only players in the game with two hits.

Jones, one of three seniors on the Lady Owls’ roster, was elated with the victory to open the team’s district schedule.

“They’re one of the teams to beat in our district,” she said, “so I’m proud we came out strong and won the first game that we faced them.”

In the last three years, Walker Valley has won 84 games and reached the Region 3-AAA tournament each season. From 2006 through 2013, the Lady Mustangs put up a string of 20-win seasons. In 2005, they went 37-13 and lost to Marshall County in the state championship game.

Those are some of the reasons the Lady Owls relished Tuesday’s win.

They’re back on the field Wednesday to play at Red Bank, travel to Cleveland on Thursday and host McMinn County on Friday in two more district games.

LINESCORE

Walker Valley                               000 100 1 – 2 4 1

Ooltewah                                     000 410 x – 5 10 1

Raymond and Chancey; Boseman and Williams.

(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)