Baylor, GPS Roll In D-II-AA State Softball

Two Arch-Rivals Will Play Each Other In Winners Bracket Final On Wednesday

  • Wednesday, May 25, 2022
  • John Hunt

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Not sure they could have a Division II-AA state softball tournament without GPS and Baylor being right in the center of the action.

Both of these teams saw action for the first time at McKnight Park on Wednesday afternoon and both cruised to relatively-easy wins.

GPS improved to 22-8 with a 9-2 victory over Class AA newcomer Tipton-Rosemark while Baylor improved to 30-3 with a 15-0, three-inning win over Chattanooga Christian on an adjacent field.

Baylor and GPS are scheduled to meet in a winners bracket game on Thursday following the losers bracket game between Tipton-Rosemark and CCS.

BAYLOR 15, CHATTANOOGA CHRISTIAN 0: Wednesday’s game was only Baylor’s third in the past two weeks, but they were all business then and they were completely focused against the Lady Chargers.

Baylor, looking for its seventh-straight state title, came out smoking as they batted around in the first inning and took complete control with six runs. 

They didn’t let up as they added four runs in the second before wrapping it all with five in the third, that last outburst coming on a walk and five hits with nobody making an out.

Baylor coach Kelli Smith was just hoping that her kids would be focused and ready to play, most especially after the Baylor baseball team had been eliminated earlier in the day.

“We were dialed in an ready to play, but every member of our starting lineup made a positive contribution,” Smith began.

“We all know that anything can happen in a state tournament, but we didn’t want to overlook Chattanooga Christian as they have a fine softball team.  We got off to a great start and that was really important, but we hit the ball really well too.

“We just want to keep rolling and to keep winning.

Addi Yates and Riley Oleksik were the only Baylor players with two hits as the Lady Red Raiders finished with eight.  CCS also helped Baylor’s cause as most of their runs came off of Lady Charger errors.

Morgan Sharpe and Holly Merritt were the only Baylor starters without a hit, but Sharpe walked three times and scored twice and Merritt reached on errors twice and scored both times.

Sophomore Avery Shamblin was the winning pitcher for Baylor as she allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out six.

McKenah Beamon and Addi Lewis had the only two hits for the Lady Chargers, both with one out in the second, but neither scored as Shamblin retired the next two hitters without a problem.

CCS coach Lisa Gray, who is retiring when the season ends, didn’t mince words after her team’s record dropped to 19-15.

“We just have to get back out there tomorrow and fight with a short-term memory,”she said afterward.

“Obviously, Baylor has a great team as all of those state championships didn’t just happen by accident, but we just didn’t play well today.  We’ll just have to regroup and do better tomorrow,” she said, knowing that her team has four eighth graders, eight freshmen, one sophomore, five juniors and no seniors.

GPS 9, TIPTON-ROSEMARK 2: The Bruisers had the same mindset as Baylor by scoring early and often and not giving the Lady Rebels a chance to even be in the game.

Both teams scored a run in the first, but the Bruisers took control with five in the second and two in the third before wrapping it all up with a single run in the fifth.

Tipton-Rosemark added a single run in the seventh, but the outcome had long been determined by that point.

Crownover was all smiles after the final out had been recorded.

“We just kept after it as our goal was to score in every inning,” she began.

“We just wanted to win and advance, but I’m extremely pleased with the way we played.  I’m also really happy with the way Isabella Jenkins pitched.  She had thrown two innings before today as she recovered from an injury, but she went three today and did really well.

“She also had three hits, so she was a force at the plate as well.  But we’re excited to be here and we’re looking forward to playing Baylor again.  We split during the regular season, so tomorrow should be fun.

“I just hope the weather allows us to play, but I have no complaint at all about the way we played today,” she concluded.

While Jenkins had three hits to lead the Bruisers, Kiki Moody and Emma Leinberger both had two hits.

A double by Ansley Blevins drove in Maddie Grace Hubbard with the first run in the first inning while Leinberger had a run-scoring single to drive in Jenkins, who had led off with a double.

Moody added a two-run single as GPS took advantage of two errors and two walks to score those five runs.

McKamey Bratcher had a two-run double in the third.

Ansley Giffin was the winning pitcher for GPS and pitched for four innings before Jenkins came in and pitched the final three.

CHATTANOOGA CHRISTIAN  000 – 0 2 3

BAYLOR  645  -- 15 8 0

Smith, Hughes (2) and Matthous; Shamblin and Oleksik.

GPS  152 010 0 – 9 12 1

TIPTON-ROSEMARK  100 000 1 – 2 6 4

Giffin, Jenkins (5) and Blevins; Grantham, Glass (3) and Wright.

(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)

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