Walker Valley's Abbey Davis, after laying down a sacrifice bunt, almost beats the throw at first in the fifth inning against East Hamilton. The Lady Mustangs pulled out a 6-2 win over the Lady Hurricanes in the District 5-3A softball tournament game at East Hamilton High.
photo by Dennis Norwood
The softball trends for Walker Valley and East Hamilton are going in different directions.
After splitting two regular-season games, the fifth-seeded Lady Mustangs pulled off a mild upset in the District 5-3A softball tournament on Friday, knocking off the No. 4 Lady Hurricanes, 6-2.
Actually, it wasn’t that close.
The Lady Mustangs (15-14) banged out 13 hits – Emilee Spann and Bailey Smith each had three – and won the rubber match of the 2016 season. East Hamilton was held to five hits by Dani Sowder and each time the Lady ‘Canes scored the Lady Mustangs answered to keep the upper hand.
“What can you say?” East Hamilton coach Norma Nelson said. “Honestly, it seemed like they wanted it more than we did. I thought my team would play better than that.”
The Lady Mustangs have won five in a row and the Lady Hurricanes have dropped six of seven.
Walker Valley advanced to the second round and will play No. 1 seed and third-ranked Ooltewah at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Ooltewah. The Lady Owls have won 14 straight games and 26 of their last 27 and are the defending tournament champions.
“It comes down to wanting to stay in the winner’s bracket and get to where we want to be, and that’s in the championship game,” Walker Valley coach Lauren Limburg said. “Ooltewah is an excellent team; they have great pitching, great hitting and great defense. It’s going to be a challenge for us, but we’ll leave everything we have on the field.”
In other action Friday, second-seeded Soddy-Daisy, ranked No. 10 in the state, walloped Bradley Central, 11-0, and No. 3 McMinn County took down No. 6 Cleveland, 7-0.
McMinn County and Soddy-Daisy (25-7) are scheduled to play at 1 p.m. Saturday.
After playing at three on-campus sites Friday, the tournament shifts to Ooltewah’s Jim Lovell Field starting Saturday morning at 9 a.m. when Cleveland and Bradley Central square off. McMinn County and Soddy-Daisy play at 1 p.m.
East Hamilton (13-16) will try to stay alive when it plays the McMinn-Bradley loser at 5 p.m. in the final game on Saturday’s five-game card.
Spann was the catalyst at the plate, delivering a single, a double and triple – a home run short of the cycle. She led off the game with a triple off East Hamilton’s Sydnie Rogers and scored on the first of four Lady Hurricane errors.
Spann doubled in a two-run sixth and came home on Jackie Newport’s triple.
Apparently, Spann, an All-District 5-3A outfielder, likes her new leadoff role.
“Emily stepped up and made a statement,” Limburg said. “We made a lineup change a couple of weeks ago and she’s really been a sparkplug for us.”
The first three batters in the Walker Valley order – Spann, Jackie Newport and Kaylee Hughes – combined for seven hits in 13 at-bats with three runs scored and three RBIs.
“We knew we hadn’t played great all season,” Spann said, “but we game into this game confident. Our team is closer than anyone can imagine.”
Can the Lady Mustangs carry over Friday’s effort into the key contest with Ooltewah on Saturday morning?
“We want to win no matter who we would play,” Spann said. “Losing twice to Ooltewah during the season would make a win in the tournament even better though.”
Newport and Hughes each had two hits.
Batting eighth in the order, Smith had three singles in four at-bats.
While the Lady Mustangs’ bats were punishing the Lady ‘Canes, right-handed starter Dani Sowder was mostly masterful against East Hamilton batters – only Miracle Gorman, who also bats leadoff, was a bit bothersome with two infield hits, scoring once in the third inning.
Third baseman Alex Kouvarakis rattled Sowder with a two-out homer in the fifth inning, but the Lady Mustangs came right back with two in the top of the sixth to allay any fears of a comeback by the Lady ‘Canes.
“We’ve had our mountains and valleys throughout the year,” Limburg said. “Now is our time to come out and lay it on the line. Even when we were struggling our girls never let up for a second. As a coach, that’s all I can ask for.”
Walker Valley struck with lightning quickness.
Spann ripped a laser past first baseman Sam Murray into the right-field corner for a triple. And when shortstop Tori Barnes couldn’t handle Newport’s one-out grounder, Spann scored the game’s first run.
Walker Valley loaded the bases in the second, but Sydnie Rogers struck out Hughes to end the threat.
Riley Suits started the Lady Mustangs’ third with a single to left field. Miranda Young’s sacrifice bunt moved Suits to second and she scored on Ali King’s hit to right.
Ninth-place hitter Abbey Davis opened the fourth with an infield hit deep in the hole between short and third. A Newport sacrifice bunt sent Davis to third and she scored on Hughes’ hard-hit single to left, extending the Walker Valley lead to 4-1.
Young reached on Kouvarakis’ error at third to start the fifth, moved to third on a groundout and came home on Smith’s hit to right.
Spann led off with a double in the sixth, scored on Newport’s triple and Hughes followed with a RBI single to left for the Lady Mustangs’ final run.
Sowder, who struck out two and walked one, controlled the East Hamilton bats all afternoon. The top three batters – Gorman, Kouvarakis and Barnes, also an All-District performer – were a collective 4 for 10 with two runs scored and a pair of RBIs.
The rest of the lineup, however, went a collective 1 for 17 with no runs and no RBIs. The only hit among that group – four through nine in the lineup – was a sixth-inning bloop single by Syvana Rogers.
“Dani pitched extremely well,” Limburg said. “The ball was moving and she hit her spots. A lot of people stepped up today at different times and that’s what a true team is. That’s what makes this group special.”
Sowder was thrilled with the offensive and defensive support she received.
“We were ready to win this game,” Sowder said. “Everyone was confident and I felt really confident because I knew my teammates would back me up. We came out ready to hit.
“We’ll have to come out the same way against Ooltewah and if we do that it could lead to a good outcome.”
Boxscore
Walker Valley 101 112 0 – 6 13 2
East Hamilton 001 010 0 – 2 5 4
Sowder and Suits; Syd.Rogers and Syv.Rogers.
Friday Results
Game 1 – Walker Valley 6, East Hamilton 2
Game 2 – McMinn County 7, Cleveland 0
Game 3 – Soddy-Daisy 11, Bradley Central 0
Saturday’s Schedule
At Ooltewah High School
Game 4 – Ooltewah vs. Walker Valley, 11 a.m.
Game 5 – Soddy-Daisy vs. McMinn County, 1 p.m.
Game 6 – Cleveland vs. Bradley Central, 9 a.m.
Game 7 – East Hamilton vs. loser Game 5, 5 p.m.
Game 8 – Loser Game 4 vs. Winner Game 6, 3 p.m.
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)
Right-hander Dani Sowder effectively scattered five hits in Friday's 6-2 victory over East Hamilton in District 5-3A softball tournament action. Sowder was backed by a 13-hit attack and solid defense while picking up the win.
photo by Dennis Norwood