Kirk and the Lady Panthers.
photo by Erika Cates
District championships are old hat to Clifford Kirk, so much so that the Hall of Fame softball mentor has literally lost count.
"I won three at Hixson, twenty-something at Soddy-Daisy," Kirk said Saturday. "But this one is special."
That's entirely because the logo on the hat, the name on the jersey and especially the girls who posed with the District 6-A championship plaque were from None of the Above. This year, Kirk orchestrated a district championship at Sale Creek, an achievement no one expected and no one will believe as word spreads.
But it did not happen quickly or easily. Red-hot Whitwell, who completed the unlikely task of eliminating district top seed Marion County on Friday, forced an "if" game Saturday afternoon by blanking the Lady Panthers 4-0. But with Soddy-Daisy transfer Brittany Lanham throwing a five-hitter and Sale Creek jumping out early with a four-run first, the decisive game went to the host team, 6-2.
The Lady Panthers won exactly one game a season ago, and Sale Creek principal (and former Soddy-Daisy player and baseball coach) Tobin Davidson was determined not to let Kirk's announced retirement take effect. After overseeing the Soddy-Daisy middle school program through its brief season, Kirk answered his friend's call and challenge.
And as of Saturday, the rest is history.
Kirk met the leftovers from the sorry 2012 season, he found zero seniors, almost no one with any summer experience, and a few truly talent types like junior right-hander Lanham, who was embraced by her veteran coach when she completed her five-hitter with a perfect 1-2-3 seventh.
"Didn't know she was coming. DIdn't expect her to be here this season," Kirk admitted. "But her family actually moved, right across the street from here. And she's only a junior."
After Whitwell's Raley Long evened up the bracket with her two-hit win in Saturday's first game, Kirk worked at keeping his players relaxed and aware that their own talents had gotten them here. In the top of the first inning of the rubber game, also against Raley, Sale Creek came out with a leadoff walk to Kirby Webb, three hits and one crucial Whitwell error to put up a 4 on the scoreboard.
"This was no fluke victory," Kirk said sharply. "We beat the two best teams in the district, beat ome of twice this week. Ont thing this win isn't isa fluke.'
Junior catcher Tricia Chauncey carried her batterymate to the title going 3-for-3 with a double and two runs scored. Savanna Weaver was also a clutch hitting star, her two-out, two-on double wrapping up the decisive first. But once the hitters cooled, Kirk reached into his deep bag of tricks to ice the victory -- a bluff steal of second by Mikeh McCombs while Megan Holloway, who'd only just entered the game, stole home without a throw.
"We've worked on the trick plays all year," Kirk said. "At the beginning of the year, they didn't even know you could do that, much less know how."
Sale Creek will host the loser of Saturday night's CSAS-Grace Academy game on Monday. Whitwell travels to meet the winner.
Game One
Sale Creek 000 000 0 -- 0 2 1
Whitwell 300 010 `x -- 4 5 1
Welch and Chauncey; Long and Sledge.
Game Two
Whitwell 001 001 0 -- 2 5 1
Sale Creek 400 002 x -- 6 8 1
Long and Sledge; Lanham and Chancey.