East Hamilton and McMinn County faced elimination from the District 5-3A softball tournament on Sunday, and neither was willing to go down without a battle to the end.
“The game was wild,” East Hamilton coach Norma Nelson said in a telephone interview. “It was a slugfest.”
In the end, the Lady Canes won 11-10 on Syerra Rogers' RBI single in the eighth inning to remain alive in the loser’s bracket. The game was moved from Monday due to East Hamilton’s senior night ceremony. On Monday, No. 1 seed Walker Valley (28-6) will play No. 2 Ooltewah (31-6) in the winner’s bracket final at 6 p.m.
That loser of that game will face East Hamilton on Tuesday at 5 p.m. and then face the Walker Valley-Ooltewah winner at 7 p.m. If a second title game is necessary, it is scheduled for Tuesday at 6 p.m. The Region 3-3A tournament begins May 15.
Over the first three innings the teams combined for 13 runs. East Hamilton (20-9) scored four runs in the second and five in the third, but the Lady Cherokees (14-19) rallied to tie the contest with three in the third and two in the fourth.
The Rogers sisters were prominent figures in the game. Syerra Rogers slugged a three-run home run in the third inning and relieved Sydney Rogers, the starter, to start the second. Syvanna Rogers worked behind the plate throughout.
The early onslaught was an omen for the rest of the game.
Miracle Gordon highlighted the second inning with a two-run double.
“We were talking in the fifth or sixth inning and Curlee (assistant coach Jennifer Williams) said the team that bats last is going to win the game,” Nelson said.
Despite playing at McMinn County, the Lady Hurricanes were the home team based on their No. 4 seed against the Lady Cherokees’ No. 5.
Williams proved quite the prophet because Syerra Rogers saved her most important contribution, with the aid of an infield misplay by the Lady Cherokees, to end the game to set off a hard-earned victory celebration.
After having tied the game at 10-10 in the seventh, Syvanna Rogers and Shelby Sholtz each singled and Alyissa Sue reached on an error to load the bases with none out in the eighth.
However, Montgomery Moore was struck out by Emily Martin, the starter who was relieved by Lauren Correll in the fourth and returned to the circle in the eighth. Sydney Batten bounced back to Martin, who threw home for the second out.
The bases remained loaded.
Syerra Rogers hit an infield popup, but was given a reprieve when the first baseman dropped the ball in foul territory for an error.
Rogers then smacked a single to left field, scoring Sholtz with the game-winning run, and capped the Lady Canes' 17-hit attack.
“I felt really good when we got our first three batters on in the last inning,” Nelson said. “With two outs we still hadn’t scored, but I had confidence Syerra would come through for us.”
Syerra Rogers wound up with four RBIs.
Gorman was 3-for-5 with the double while Sue and Sydney Batten also had three hits in five at-bats, including a double. Sholtz went 2-for-5 and Whitney Richardson added two hits in four trips.
McMinn catcher Ashley Baxter was a one-girl wrecking crew, hitting a two-run homer in the first, a solo shot in the third and a three-run blast in the fourth.
Nelson decided to walk Baxter in her final two plate appearances.
Linescore
McMinn County 301 320 10 – 10 10 5
East Hamilton 045 000 11 – 11 17 4
Martin, Correll (4), Martin (8) and Baxter; Sydney Rogers, Syerra Rogers (2) and Syvanna Rogers.
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)