CHARLESTON, Tenn. -- The Lady Mustangs had a busy day on the softball field Tuesday.
In a pair of do-or-die games, Walker Valley stayed alive in the District 5-4A tournament with a 4-1 elimination of McMinn County in the day's opener then avenged Monday's 3-2 loss to Cleveland with a 3-2 win in the closer.
Both Walker Valley and Cleveland will advance to the Region 3 championships.
After taking the loss Monday, Walker Valley's Ryann Presswood stepped back in the circle — after defeating McMinn — and held the Lady Raiders to four hits, one earned run and a single walk in her second complete game of the day. The junior struck out six on the afternoon. The only blemish was an Alexis Folts home run in the fifth inning.
Ashley Allen took the hard-luck loss for Cleveland also going the distance. Allen allowed six hits, two earned runs and no walks with two Ks.
“I'm really proud of our girls for fighting back,” said Lady Mustangs leader Lauren Limburg. “To win two ballgames today against two tough opponents with the pressure on just shows the girls' fight, their heart, their belief in themselves and each other. I'm just really proud of them. That was two big wins.”
The deciding game is set for 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, depending on weather conditions which are forecast to be potentially on the wet and windy side. If the championship game is unable to be played a course of action will have to be determined.
“I think we're just trying to keep it a little exciting,” said Lady Raiders head coach KJ Harris a little tongue-in-cheek. “We played on our heels early. I just don't think we had the same approach at bat. We've got to have a specific plan stepping in the box. It's not a free-for-all every single time, but if you make a mistake in an early at bat you have to make adjustments coming back around. I don't feel like we did that.”
The Lady Mustangs struck first in the bottom of the first inning beginning with Karly Blackwell's infield single. With one out, Alyssa Davenport delivered an RBI double to center field scoring Blackwell to put th Lady Mustangs out front 1-0.
The Feisty Fillies jumped ahead 3-0 in the third with a single by Amy Benson and and RBI double to left off the bat of Davenport. The Walker Valley third baseman later scored on a wild pitch.
The Lady Raiders cut the lead by one in the top of the fifth when Folts ripped a shot that cleared the center-field fence to make it a 3-1 game.
Cleveland opened with a single by Landri Nelson who moved up one bag on an Allison Farnsworth sacrifice bunt and made it 3-2 racing home on a Walker valley error.
The Fillies got singles from Davenport and Brylie Davis in the bottom half of the sixth, but were shut down by the Lady Raiders.
“Hats off to Walker, it's a good win. I felt like they fought late down the stretch and made some big plays and came up with some big hits,” said Harris. “We'll be ready to go tomorrow, it's not over.”
Walker Valley put a quick end to the long day in the upper half of the seventh as Presswood got a pair of infield fly balls wrapped around a K to seal the win.
“We've still got work to do. We're excited to get to compete tomorrow. But, I can't say enough about out girls. Every single one of them fought to the end,” Limburg said. ““Boogs” and Madi pitched a great game, Two great ballgames. Our defense backed them up. We got some key hits. They just did a great job, a great job.”
All District: Rhea County — Chelsea Reel, Allie Shaver, Lakyn Lockhart; McMinn County — Ama Grimmett, Macy Bobich, Cami Wade, Lexi Cooley; Cleveland — Lily O'Bryan, Ashley Allen, Lilly Mason, Allison Farnsworth, Landry Nelson; Walker Valley — Ryann Presswood, Alyssa Davenport, Addison Woodall, Amy Benson, Madison Thomas.
Summary
Cleveland 000 011 0 — 2 4 2
Walker Valley 102 000 x — 3 8 1
WP: Ryann Presswood LP: Ashley Allen HR: Alexis Folts (C) 2B: Alyssa Davenport 2 (WV) Highlights: Landri Nelson 2-3 RS, Folts 1-3 RS RBI (C) Karly Blackwell RS, Amy Benson RS, Davenport 3-3 RS 2RBI, Brylie Davis 2-3.
(Contact Richard Roberts at richardvol55@yahoo.com)