McNairy softball, York take advantage of opportunities

MURFREESBORO – McNairy Central catcher Tori York apparently has the confidence of her coaching staff and the team, and there’s a lot of confidence there.

She calls pitches for junior hurler Katie Turner, and that takes a lot of trust in her pregame and pre-batter preparation.

“I watch every move a batter makes as much as I can,” York said. “Their warm-up swings, their first couple swings … I think I have a pretty good feel for a batter within the first three or four pitches.”

That helps her take care of the hard part – calling the pitch. The easy part is catching the offering from Turner, which is usually between 60 and 65 miles per hour.

Turner’s pitches are usually where they’re supposed to be, so that means York needs to have her mitt in the same spot.

“It can be tough calling pitches because a mistake on my part can be a serious mistake in a close game like this one,” York said, after McNairy won its first game in the Class AA state tournament, 4-3, over Sweetwater. “But Katie is good enough that we can depend on her to get a lot of the work done defensively for us.”

But there are times when the other eight Lady Bobcats have to get involved. While Turner did record 11 strikeouts in the win, Sweetwater came close a few times to adding to its three-run total.

One time came in the bottom of the sixth when they had runners on second and third with two outs. Turner’s pitch when to the batter, the runner on third took a few steps toward home, and York took advantage.

“It’s not often we have baserunners on third, so it’s not like I have many opportunities for pick-offs,” York said with a laugh. “So when I see the opportunity, I need to take it.

“But seriously, if we need to get the out that way, we’ve worked on it a few times each week all season. We’re all confident we can do it if the opportunity is there for us.”

The opportunity for a state championship is there for the Lady Bobcats with a win in their first game. Their next game is Wednesday at 4 p.m. against the winner of Greenbrier and Elizabethton.

Reach Brandon Shields at bjshields@jacksonsun.com or at 731-425-9751. Follow him on Twitter @JSEditorBrandon or on Instagram at jacksonsunsports.