District 5-AAA softball coaches met Thursday morning to finalize plans for the tournament that begins Friday. Left to right, front row, Norma Nelson, East Hamilton; Lauren Limburg, Walker Valley and Christy McElhaney, Bradley Central. Back row, Wes Skiles, Soddy-Daisy; Bo Cagle, McMinn County; Jon Massey, Ooltewah and Caitlin DeLoach, Cleveland.
photo by Dennis Norwood
The District 5-AAA softball coaches met Thursday morning at Beef o Brady’s in Ooltewah to work out the final details of the league’s tournament that begins on Friday.
But the outcome of Thursday night’s showdown between Soddy-Daisy at Walker Valley to decide the tourney’s No. 1 seed kept the coaches from getting much done.
The Lady Trojans (26-7, 9-3) whipped the Lady Mustangs, 7-1, and go into the tournament as the top-seeded favorite. Ooltewah (29-7, 9-3) is No. 2 and Walker Valley (21-7, 9-3) falls in at No. 3.
First-round games will be hosted by the higher-seeded team on Friday.
No. 4 East Hamilton (11-14, 6-6) entertains No. 5 McMinn County (14-14, 5-7) at 5:30 p.m.
Walker Valley plays host to Bradley Central (5-17, 3-9) at 5:30 p.m. and Ooltewah takes on visiting No. 7 Cleveland (4-11, 1-11) at 6 p.m. in the other.
Soddy-Daisy won’t play until Saturday morning when the tournament shifts to Bradley Central High School in Cleveland.
The Lady Trojans will face the East Hamilton-McMinn County winner at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Four other games are also on the Saturday slate.
Soddy-Daisy finished the season strong, beating Ooltewah and Walker Valley on back-to-back days to clinch the top seed.
Plagued by injuries throughout the season, the Lady Trojans have regrouped and appear to be playing to their full potential heading into the tournament.
The Lady Trojans honored their seven seniors on Wednesday, but two of the veterans – Jessica Boles and Jessica Barbee are injured an “unlikely” to play in the postseason.
“Three other girls have been hurt during the season,” Lady Trojans coach Wes Skiles said. “This is a great senior class, but at one point we have five seniors down and four were starters.”
Tournament Schedule
Seed, Record in Parenthesis
Friday
(5) McMinn County at (4) East Hamilton, 5:30 p.m.
(6) Bradley Central at (3) Walker Valley, 5:30 p.m.
(7) Cleveland at (2) Ooltewah, 6 p.m.
(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)