It's Spring Fling for Greenbrier's Lady Cats

The Greenbrier softball team is going back to Spring Fling.

Shelby Clay's two-out, two-run single in the botttom of the sixth propelled the Lady Cats to a berth in the Class AA state tournament Monday afternoon, giving them a 3-1 sectional over Waverly.

The clutch hit

A Zoe Merrill lead-off single and a pair of two-out walks loaded the bases for Clay, a sophomore second baseman.

She laced a sharp single to left, bringing home the pair of game-winning runs.

"On a scale from 1 to 10 where 10 is pumped up and 1 is totally relaxed, I've got to be about a 2," Clay said. "If I get too pumped up, I get nervous, and then I get a little spastic, and I don't want to be spastic."

Greenbrier coach Janna Harris wanted her team to be aggressive.

"I told them to jump on the good pitch, and Shelby got her pitch," Harris said. "It came at the right moment, and it was huge for it."

Seventh heaven

It's the seventh time Greenbrier has been to the state tournament. As the team posed for photos, they held up seven fingers to commemorate the event.

Harris said that goal originated after a poor showing in an early-season scrimmage and a practice in the school's gym that ended up lasting until almost 10 p.m.

"I challenged the girls that night," Harris said. "I asked them, 'How many banners are hanging in that outfield?' and they all told me because everybody knows how good a tradition this program has."

Early runs

Both teams scratched out early runs.

After a Caitlin Turner walk to lead off the bottom of the first, Waverly failed to handle a pair of successive bunts, loading the bases with nobody out. Lulu Klecan singled home a run with a bloop single to left-center.

Waverly got a run back in the fourth inning on a bases-loaded hit batsman, but the momentum swung back when pitcher Savannah Dalton struck out the next hitter and then coaxed an inning-ending ground out

What's next?

Greenbrier will play Elizabethton 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the opening round of the state tournament at Starplex No. 2 in Murfreesboro. The Lady Cats' half of the bracket includes Sweetwater and McNairy Central.

Quote to note

"It's amazing. For the seniors, we were freshmen when we won (in the sectional) and got to go to state. Last year, we were in the same position and we lost (at) Waverly, and we didn't get to go to state. So this shows we're good enough."

- Greenbrier catcher Shawna Bogle