ATHENS, Tenn. — A one-out walk-off single by USC-Upstate signee Lyssa Davenport made the difference in the tooth-and-nail battle between Bradley County rivals Monday even with a region berth on the line.
The third meeting between fourth-ranked Walker Valley and Cleveland was as exciting as expected the winner's bracket final of District 5-4A Softball Tournament, in Athens
Having split their regular season meetings, the Feisty Fillies pulled out a 4-3 victory, advancing to the tournament championship game Tuesday evening.
""I am incredibly proud of the girls for their effort and energy tonight," proclaimed veteran Walker Valley head coach Lauren Limburg.
"They continued to fight through the ups and downs of the game.
"'Boogs' (UTEP signee Ryann Presswood) pitched incredibly well and our defense played solid. Our dugout was loud the entire game.
"To earn a berth to the region tournament is a huge deal. We are excited to go compete tomorrow (Tuesday)," she added.
With the loss, the Lady Raiders (16-13) will have to get past Rhea County, a 5-4 victor over host McMinn County Monday, in Tuesday's loser's bracket final for another shot at Walker Valley (28-8) for the title. A win over the Lady Eagles will give Cleveland a Region 3-4A berth, but it will have to beat the Feisty Fillies twice to take the district crown and the rite to host the region event next week.
"I thought it was a hard-fought game by both teams," related first-year Lady Raider head coach LeeAnne Shurette. "Huntlee (Dennison) pitched a great game, and our defense really stepped up, making some key plays to get us out of a few tough spots.
"We had some timely hits, but we need to do a better job of producing offense throughout the entire lineup."
FEISTY FILLIES 4, LADY RAIDERS 3: After a scoreless opening inning, Walker Valley was able to get on the scoreboard first, circling the bases once in the bottom of the second.
Cleveland fought back with solo scores in the fourth and fifth frames to take the lead, but the Fillies came galloping back with a 2-spot in the bottom of the fifth to regain the advantage.
Undeterred, the Lady Raiders were able to even the tally with another run in the top of the sixth.
The game-winning score came when Walker Valley senior Amy Benson led off the bottom of the seventh with a double, before freshman Nessa Byers bunted her over to third and she came home on a walk-off single from Davenport's bat.
Benson led the Herd, going 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored, while Byers was 2-of-3 with a "ribbie" and a run.
Presswood, who struck out nine, walked just one and scattered five Lady Raider hits for the pitching win, helped her own cause with a pair of two-base knocks to drive in a couple of teammates.
Davenport drew a base on balls to go with her game-winning hit, plus circled the bases herself earlier in the contest. Morgan Rice had the other Walker Valley's nine hits.
Two of Cleveland's runs came on solo blasts over the fense by juniors Lilly Mason and Landri Nelson, plus senior Allison Farnsworth laced a run-scoring hit.
Junior leadoff hitter Brylee Cisco went 2-for-3 with a run scored in the contest.
GAME SUMMARY
District 5-4A
SB Tournament
Winner's bracket final
Monday, May 4
at Athens
Cleveland 000 111 0 — 3 5 1
Walker Valley 010 020 1 — 4 9 1
WP: Ryann Presswood 7 IP, 9 Ks, 1 BB, 5 hit, 3 ER. LP: Huntlee Dennison 6.1 IP, 2 Ks, 5 BB, 9 hits, 4 ER. HR: Lilly Mason, Landri Nelson (C). 2B: Presswood 2, Amy Benson (WV). RBI: Nelson, Mason, Allison Farnsworth (C); Presswood 2, Alyssa Davenport, Nessa Byers (WV). RECORDS: Cleveland 16-13; Walker Valley 28-8.