Ooltewah, Walker Valley Win To Set Up Big 5-3A Softball Showdown

ATHENS, Tenn. – It was like a 9 to 5 workday Saturday for the District 5-3A softball tournament teams at McMinn County High School.

Action started at 9 a.m. and the fifth game began about 5:30 p.m.

Second-seeded Ooltewah spanked Soddy-Daisy, 9-4, as Cheyanne Sales and Ally Chernak combined to go 5-for-8 with five runs scored and four RBIs, backing Kayla Boseman’s six-hit, 15-strikeout pitching.

Sales went 3-for-4 that included a two-run homer in the fourth inning and a RBI-single in the second. Chernak’s solo home run came one batter before Sales’ shot and she concluded the game with a 2-for-4 effort, two runs scored and a RBI.

The Lady Owls (31-6) set themselves up for a rematch with regular-season champion and No. 1 seeded Walker Valley in the winner’s bracket final on Monday at 6 p.m. in the feature game of the tourney thus far.

“It’s a big game,” Lady Owls coach Jon Massey said. “Walker Valley will be excited and surely our girls will be ready to go. If you can’t get up to play in a game like Monday’s will be, you better check your pulse. We split regular season games, each team won at home, and it should be interesting to see how we respond.”

The Lady Mustangs (28-6) thumped East Hamilton, 8-1, in the second game as catcher Riley Suits went 3-for-4, including a two-run home run, her eighth of the season, that highlighted a five-run sixth inning that run-ruled the Lady Hurricanes.

“We want this (tournament title) so bad,” Suits said. “All of us want nothing less than getting to state.”

In other games, Bradley Central eliminated Cleveland, 11-5, East Hamilton bounced back with a 13-3 win to oust Bradley and McMinn County knocked out Soddy-Daisy, 9-6, in the day’s final game.

East Hamilton and McMinn County will play Sunday at 3 p.m. in an elimination game.

Ooltewah 9, Soddy-Daisy 4: The Lady Owls got out of the gate strong and Soddy-Daisy threw in a helping hand.

Chernak, a Tennessee State University signee, singled in the first, went to second on a wild pitch, to third on a fielder’s choice and scored on the second of three wild pitches in the inning. Sales, who reached on the fielder’s choice, later scored when Mabry Carpenter was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

“We’re a very young team,” Soddy-Daisy coach Travis Hale said. “Our youthfulness showed today.”

Addy Keylon reached on an infield error in the second, moved to second base on a groundout and came home Sales’ single to right-center field, pushing Ooltewah’s lead to 3-0.

In the fourth, Keylon was hit by a pitch, but was called out for leaving early trying to advance to second. Chernak, batting .350 on the season, followed with a home run to give her 31 RBIs. She leads the Lady Owls with 56 hits that includes 12 for extra bases: six doubles, one triple and the five home runs.

“We were all feeling good at the plate today,” Chernak said. “We were seeing the ball and hitting it.”

Boseman, who has the team’s leading batting average at .536, ripped a double to right-center. Sales, a .429 hitter, worked the count to 3-2 before blasting a two-run homer, her team-high 10^th, and pushing the lead to 6-0.

“Ally and Cheyanne hit the ball well today and that’s good to see because Kayla is walking a lot in recent games,” Massey said.

Boseman was working on a no-hitter 4 1/3 innings and retired eight in a row – she fanned pinch-hitter Trista Frazier – before Courtney Daughtery flipped a single to right field. Boseman then finished off the inning by whiffing Emily Higgins and Hope Ingle.

With two out in the sixth, Javaria Smith reached on shortstop Sydney White’s error and Kaylin Fugatt blooped a hit into left that White almost caught over her shoulder. She fell to the ground hard, but continued to play. Peri Prestwood followed with a three-run homer to center field.

Boseman struck out Frazier again to escape further damage.

Boseman was an equal opportunity strikeout artist Saturday, fanning Sydney Rader four times, Jayden Baron and Frazier a combined three times, and Smith, Prestwood and Higgins each twice.

“Taking nothing away from Kayla, she’s great in the circle,” Hale said, “but we just didn’t do that well today.”

Ooltewah answered Soddy-Daisy’s three-run sixth with its own three-run outburst. Boseman and Sales each singled, White popped out to second Tyler Sullivan singled in a run. Carpenter followed with another RBI single and Sullivan later scored on Makayla Strickland’s sacrifice fly.

Walker Valley 8, East Hamilton 1: The Lady Mustangs (28-6), which has won 15 straight games, spotted the Lady Hurricanes a first-inning run when Syerra Rogers singled and came home on Miracle Gorman’s double off stellar Walker Valley pitcher Natalie Pruitt.

That was all she wrote for East Hamilton (18-9) though.

“I thought we were ready to play, but Walker Valley hits the ball so well and they did again today,” Lady Canes coach Norma Nelson said.

The Lady Mustangs collected 12 hits and none caused the trouble that Suits dished out.

She reached on a fielder’s choice in the second and came home when Abbey Davis drew a bases-loaded walk. In the third inning, she smashed a two-out, two-run homer to push the lead to 3-0. Suits doubled in the fifth, but Walker Valley left the bases loaded.

The catcher broke out the big bat again in the sixth with her second two-run blast to left field that cleared the scoreboard. Laney Harris added a two-run double and Katelyn Howell contributed a run-scoring double as well.

“This is the first time I ever hit two home runs in a game,” Suits said. “At the end of the day, you give it all you have and take the win. I couldn’t be happier.”

Said Walker Valley coach Lauren Limburg of Suits, “Those were big hits that we needed. Riley is one of our hardest workers and it’s good to see her bring that work to the field. This team is special because we have different people step up at different times.

“After East Hamilton scored, we remained poised and got the win.”

East Hamilton 13, Bradley Central 3: Sydnie Rogers, one of three sisters on the Lady Canes’ squad, threw a four-hitter and was backed by an eight-run first inning against the Bearettes (10-21).

Syerra Rogers went 2-for-2 and both were home runs. She had three RBIs. Miracle Gordon had three hits in three at-bats, with two doubles. Sydnie Rogers added two hits, including a double, and drove in two runs.

East Hamilton had 12 hits in the six-inning game.

McMinn County 9, Soddy-Daisy 6: The teams combined for five home runs in a park that makes most games susceptible to the long ball. Soddy-Daisy clubbed three of the out-of-the-park bombs, one each by Jayde Baron, Emily Higgins and Courtney Daughtrey.

For the Lady Cherokees (14-18), Brooke Mizell went 4-for-4 with a homer and Emily Baxter also belted one beyond the fences. Moriah Erwin was 3-for-4 and Sammie Greeson 2-for-4.

Linescores

East Hamilton              100 000 – 1 4 2

Walker                          012 005 – 8 12 1

Syerra Rogers and Syvanna Rogers; Pruitt and Suits.

Soddy-Daisy                000 003 1 – 4 6 1

Ooltewah                     210 300 3 – 9 13 1

Blevins, Pourfarzib and Ingle; Boseman and Sales.

All-District 5-3A Team

Walker Valley – Natalie Pruitt, Carissa Frost, Laney Harris, Kaylee Hughes

Ooltewah – Kayla Boseman, Addy Keylon, Cheyanne Sales

Soddy-Daisy – Peri Prestwood, Javaria Smith

McMinn County – Maryah Sober

Bradley Central – Haley Campbell

Cleveland – Lydia Martin

Tournament Schedule

All Games at McMinn County

Sunday

East Hamilton vs. McMinn/Soddy-Daisy, 3 p.m.

Monday

Monday – Ooltewah vs. Walker Valley, 6 p.m.

(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)