Baylor's Lady Red Raiders will try next week to earn a fourth consecutive softball state championship. They swept their best-of-three home series Tuesday, defeating St. Agnes 16-0 in four innings and 21-0 in three.
It's believed that Baylor (31-3) plays next against the winner between Brentwood Academy and Briarcrest. Those teams are scheduled to begin play this afternoon in a best-of-three quarterfinal in Memphis.
"We're excited about the opportunity next week," Baylor coach Kelli Smith said. "We've got some new players that have never been before, so that's always exciting. And we've got some that have been the last couple of years, and I know they're excited to get back."
Acelynn Sellers was the winning pitcher in the first game. She threw a one-hitter, allowing two walks and hitting a batter, and had eight strikeouts.
Macy Ann McKnight, who injured her right ankle when the Lady Raiders played GPS a week ago, pitched three perfect innings with four strikeouts in the second game. Smith said McKnight has been receiving medical treatment since, and it was planned against the Lady Stars that she didn't play any first base - which is customary when Sellers pitches.
"We wanted to give her a couple of innings pitching today to see how she looked," Smith said. "She faced the minimum. She had a perfect game. You can't ask for any better than that."
Kamrie Rich led the offense in the first game with two home runs and five RBIs. Five other Lady Raiders had at least two hits each with Cheyenne Lindsey, Sellers and Brinley Garrison driving in two runs each. Lindsey also scored three times, as did Emily Rye.
Leadoff batter Lindsey batted three times in the first inning in the second game. Sophie Piskos had a two-run home run and Makayla Packer had a three-run shot during the 16-run rally. With her second-inning double, Piskos ended up hitting for the cycle in the two games combined.
Abby McNamara doubled twice and had an RBI and two runs scored in the clinching game. Ashton Bazzell was 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and she scored twice. Eighth-grader CaDashia Collins, one of many Baylor reserves who played in the doubleheader, went 2-for-2 with an RBI, and she scored when she first entered the game as a pinch-runner for Garrison, who had hit a run-scoring double.
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter @KelleySmiddie.