Grace Baptist Academy softball opponents, take heed. Don’t do anything to miff Bethany Cowart.
Cowart continued her unrelenting power-hitting postseason on Friday by belting her second home run in as many games to back the three-hit pitching of Tory Helton and the Lady Golden Eagles beat visiting Watertown, 4-0, in a state sectional to nail down their fourth straight appearance in the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association Class A state tournament.
The Lady Golden Eagles (27-7), who are undefeated through district, regional and sectional play this season, will open their fourth bid for a state title on Tuesday against an opponent that will be determined when the brackets are made public by TSSAA.
“This is our fourth trip to the state tournament and they just get better,” Grace coach Alan Walker said. “This team has played so well this year, especially our four seniors (Lexie Dean, Reagan Schrader, Cowart and Kaitlyn Eldridge). We’re playing consistent ball. We’re not making errors and forcing the other team to earn it. We’re not walking anybody and we’re getting timely hits, especially two-out hits.”
Cowart struck with one out in the sixth.
A senior center-fielder playing her final home game, Cowart blasted a two-run homer to left field to extend the Lady Eagles’ lead to 3-0. She smacked a three-run homer with none out in a four-run third inning in Grace’s 7-0 win over Silverdale Baptist Academy in the Region 3-A title game on Wednesday.
“I use my first at-bat to get my bearings and if I strike out I get angry,” said Cowart, who was probably fuming after whiffing against Watertown’s Jamie Reed in the first inning. “Then I have to get them back.”
She smashed a screaming line drive to left in the third, but Watertown’s Emily Gleason made the catch, barely having to move.
But Cowart made Reed and the Lady Tigers pay a heavy price in the sixth when she connected on a 1-1 pitch and sent the ball soaring over the left-field fence.
“It’s not a bad run I’m on now,” Cowart said. “I guess I’m just hoping to go out with a bang. I was out a game or two in the district tournament with a hamstring and felt like I let the team down. I came back and wanted to do the best I could for the team.”
Cowart has six homers and 49 RBIs this season.
Said Walker, “Bethany was struggling going into district, but she came out of it midway through the tournament and has been hitting ever since.”
Sitting on the sidelines is not what Cowart wants to do.
“It was frustrating,” she said. “It was really hard for me to sit and watch. I don’t enjoy that at all.”
Watertown coach Brandy Holcomb said Cowart’s home run by itself probably didn’t beat her Lady Tigers.
“That zero on our side beat us,” she said. “My pitcher’s a senior, my shortstop is a junior and we start five freshmen. If we were a little older and literally a little stronger physically, we maybe could have turned some of those singles into doubles and scored a few runs.
“I think the nerves may have gotten to them a little since they were playing in the sub-state game, but we held (last year’s) state runner-up team to one run through five innings. I was super pleased with them, but I’ve told them all season we have to finish.”
Holcomb is expecting a baby in about a week, but was determined to be with the team for Friday’s game.
“My doctor doesn’t know I’m here,” she said. “She told me not to be more than two hours from the hospital, but I wanted to be with these girls.”
Cowart had plenty of help in notching Friday’s victory.
Junior Tory Helton fired a three-hit shutout, following up on her four-hitter against Silverdale two days earlier. Against Watertown (18-16) she gave up singles to leadoff batter Jordan Brewington in the first and third innings and Allison Bouton singled in the fifth.
Five Lady Purple Tigers worked Helton to a 3-2 count, but she walked only two – Mary Holden leading off the second inning and M.K. Christian leading off the seventh while Tiffany Tomlinson reached on a fielder’s choice in the second, Allison Bouton struck out in the second and Brewington popped up in the sixth.
“She just won’t give in,” Walker said of Helton.
“I’ve always been taught to get ahead, but I fell behind on some hitters tonight,” Helton (26-4) said. “But that’s just a one-game thing.”
Helton is a plucky competitor when she gets the signal and eyes the mitt of Schrader behind home plate, especially when a hitter gets deep in the count.
“At that point I’m thinking, ‘You’re going down. You’re not going to get on base. This isn’t happening,’ ” she said.
Helton didn’t allow a runner past first base.
Grace, the state Class A runner-up in 2010 and 2011, scored once off Reed in the first inning.
With one out Schrader singled to left and stole second base. When the throw from catcher Holden wound up in shallow center field, Schrader scrambled to third base. Center-fielder Leanna Warren retrieved the ball and her toss sailed past Holden, who wasn’t expecting the throw, and Schrader scampered home with the game’s first run.
“Their pitcher wasn’t bad, but was slower than pitchers we’ve faced,” Schrader said. “She’s a lot slower than Katie (Henderson) from Silverdale. We had to wait, sit back and find our pitch. We’re starting to hit a lot better as a team. It’s not just one individual doing the hitting, it’s our whole lineup helping us out.”
For instance, Maddy Horton, who bats sixth in the Lady Eagles’ lineup, beat out a bunt single in the fourth, but was thrown out trying to steal second. In the sixth, Horton’s grounder got past Chastain, the Lady Tigers’ third baseman, and bounced off the bag toward Brewington at short. Horton reached first without a throw and Eldridge, who had tripled after Cowart’s homer, scored Grace’s final run.
Over five innings, the Lady Tigers were hanging with the Lady Eagles, creating a bit of nervousness for the perennial Class A state title contenders.
Cowart, however, wasn’t that concerned.
“There were a few nerves, but there also was a lot of confidence in our team,” she said. “I think the Lord gave us peace and calmed our nerves and we held it together.
“We’ve done a good job all season coming from behind in the last couple of innings or expanding our lead to make it a little easier on coach Tina (Walker) and coach Alan so they can get a few less grey hairs.”
Tina Walker was still in Utah on Friday watching the couple’s daughter, Lacye and the Chattanooga State softball team play in the junior college national tournament.
Watertown 000 000 0 – 0 3 4
Grace Academy 100 030 x – 4 7 0
Batteries
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com)