Ooltewah’s softball team is on quite a roll.
The Lady Owls have won eight straight games, outscoring their opponents 81-16, and they opened their own Ooltewah Invitational at The Summitt by pitching back-to-back perfect games in beating Bearden, 12-0, and Cumberland County, 13-0.
“We know what we’ve got pitching-wise,” Lady Owls coach Jon Massey said. “I’m proud of both pitching performances tonight. We’re fortunate to have girls giving their maximum efforts. We stress to our pitchers to throw strikes and they’ve been doing that. Throw strikes and most times you’ve got a chance to win.”
In the first game that lasted just three innings – each game has a 75-minute time limit, Monica Thompson fired a perfect game, striking out eight of the nine batters she faced.
Despite a shaky first inning on Tuesday, Thompson fired a one-hitter against Cleveland in a 10-1 District 5-3A win.
“I sure threw better tonight than I did in that first inning against Cleveland,” Thompson said. “(Pitching) coach (Stacey) Wong has been stressing for me to focus on location of my pitches and I’m doing a lot better with that.”
In Friday’s four-inning nightcap, Kayla Boseman, the 2015 MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year, duplicated Thompson’s feat with a four-inning perfect game.
Boseman struck out nine, allowed only one ball out of the infield, smacked two home runs and drove in four runs as the Lady Owls crushed the Lady Jets.
On Wednesday, Boseman threw a no-hitter in Ooltewah’s 13-0 rout of Olentangy (Ohio).
“I think Monica rubbed off on me tonight,” said Boseman, who also hit two home runs in the Olentangy game. “Our team is playing good right now. I think we’re really going to go far this year. I just try to go out there and do my best to help the team.”
Ooltewah finished third in last year’s Class 3A state tournament and finished 40-10.
The Lady Owls (17-3) have scored 56 runs while allowing the opposition a paltry eight, those coming in an 18-8 win over Rhea County on Wednesday in a home-field double-header.
Against the Lady Jets (3-7), Boseman drilled a two-run Boseman Bullet over the left-field fence in a five-run second inning and started a four-run fourth with a leadoff homer.
Boseman has hit six homers on the season.
Thompson, pinch-hitting for Tiera Lemon, joined the homer barrage with a two-run blast on the first pitch from Iles in the third inning. It was her first homer of the season.
First baseman Aubbie Collake followed Boseman’s fourth-inning blast with her second round-tripper of the year.
“Our hitting has just really clicked in the last week,” Collake, a junior, said. “I guess it really is contagious. I know my confidence is really good.”
Ooltewah raked Iles for 12 hits and Lemon, Boseman, Tyler Sullivan and Bailey Kennedy, a left-fielder who committed to Tusculum College earlier in the week, all had two hits.
While Boseman was manhandling the Lady Jets in the circle, the Lady Owls hitters quickly found the range against Cumberland’s Julie Iles. Ooltewah had three runners in the first inning, but failed to score.
In second, the Lady Owls collected five hits and as many runs to start the scoring onslaught.
Tyler Sullivan singled. Addy Keylon popped out. Kennedy singled to left and Marissa Forrester punched a hit up the middle. Lemon’s single to center scored Sullivan. Kennedy came home on Shelby Sutton’s sacrifice fly and then Boseman unloaded on Iles for the two-run homer.
With one out in the third, Sullivan doubled to left and Keylon singled to center with Sullivan moving to third. She scored on a wild pitch and Keylon raced all the way to third. Kennedy’s doubled scored Keylon and Thompson followed with her two-run shot.
After Boseman and Collake homered in the fourth, Mabry Carpenter singled to right and Sullivan grounded out. Iles walked Keylon and Kennedy and Forrester delivered a two-run hit to left.
Ooltewah will play LaVergne on Saturday at 10 a.m. and then Grace Christian at 11:30 a.m. before bracket plays begins at 1:30 p.m.
Boxscore
Cumberland County 000 0 – 0 0 1
Ooltewah 054 4 – 13 14 0
Iles and Howard; Boseman and Forrester.
Other Scores
Meigs County 11, Cleveland 2
Cleveland 7, Boyd-Buchanan 6
Farragut 13, Bradley Central 0
Tyner 8, Arts & Sciences 5
Friendship Christian 9, Sequatchie County 0
Olentangy (Ohio) 10, Bearden 2
Meigs County 9, Arts & Sciences 0
Columbia Academy 2, Sequatchie County 0
King’s Academy 7, Loudon 0
LaVergne 12, Sequoyah 2
Marion County 4, Grace Christian 3
McMinn County 5, Loudon 0
LaVergne 5, Cumberland County 1
Olentangy (Ohio) 11, Sequoyah 8
King’s Academy 4, Marion County 0
(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow on Twitter @larryfleming44)