It's been some 25 years since Cleveland made a trip to the district softball championship game. They didn't win then, but Tuesday the Lady Raiders will have another shot at a the 5-4A title after relegating third-ranked Walker Valley to the loser's bracket Monday Night at Larry Haney Field.
In a battle of two of the best pitchers in the Southeast corner of Tennessee, Cleveland's Lily O'Bryan got the win 3-2 over Walker Valley junior Ryann Presswood in a 10-inning battle that saw the Lady Raiders take advantage of the international tiebreaker rule in the final frame.
O'Bryan and the Lady Raiders held on to hold the Lady Mustangs scoreless in the bottom of the inning to advance to the championship round.
Cleveland will face the winner of Walker Valley and McMinn County at 7 p.m. The Lady Mustangs and Lady Cherokees will open the night at 5 in an elimination game.
The Lady Raiders also secured their first Region 3 berth in a quarter century, which will be held next week at the District 6 champion's home field.
“Lily O'Bryan was a workhorse on the mound. We didn't have our best day at bat, but in postseason it's anybody's night. Tomorrow it could be anybody else's,” said Lady Raider head coach KJ Harris.
“I thought Presswood threw a really good game. I thought they gave us their best. We're happy to be on the winning side.”
O'Bryan's gem consisted of 11 strikeouts in 10 innings while giving up seven hits. The Furman signee walked four and and allowed no earned runs.
Presswood also went the distance, giving up five hits, while fanning 13 Lady Raiders and issuing no free passes.
“That was a good ballgame. We just came up short there at the end,” said Walker Valley head coach Lauren Limburg. “But, I'm proud of our girls, they fought the entire game.
"'Boogs' pitched a great game and (catcher Madi) Oran called a great game. We just needed a hit there at the end. We had opportunities in those last several innings. We just couldn't push a run across. You have games like that.”
Walker Valley, which edged 18th-ranked Cleveland on a tie-breaker for the tournament's top seed, put the first run on the board in the bottom of the second inning.
Presswood walked and was replaced on first by Addyson Trew, who stole second and later scored on an RBI double down the left-field line off the bat of freshman Morgan Rice, who went 4-for-4 on the day.
Cleveland answered right back in the top of the third as junior Ja'Maya Hill reached on an error and scored when O'Bryan cracked a run-scoring double to left.
Walker Valley's Madison Thomas reached on a two-out fielder's choice in the fourth. Thomas raced home to make it a 2-1 game on a throw to second trying to catch Rice stealing. Rice reached third when the ball got away, but was left standing.
O'Bryan put the Lady Raiders on her shoulders in the upper half of the sixth as she blasted a line shot over the left-center field fence to knot the score at 2-2.
With neither team able to break the deadlock after nine innings, the international tiebreaker was put into effect as Cleveland came to bat in the upper half of the 10th.
With sophomore Lilly Mason on second, Hill's single to left sent Mason to third. Mason put Cleveland out front 3-2 scoring on a fielder's choice grounder by senior Reagan Campbell.
The Lady Raiders put the win to bed with a pair of O'Bryan Ks and a ground ball to third for the final out.
“That was actually our first game with the international tiebreaker. Normally we would go in the eighth if it was regular season,” said Coach Harris. "I'm super proud of our fight.”
Fourth-seed McMinn County stayed alive in the tournament with a win over No. 3 seed Rhea County, in Evensville.
“I'm really proud of the girls, We'll come back and fight tomorrow. These girls are really special. They fight for each other. They love each other,” commented Coach Limburg. “We've just got to some out ready to go tomorrow when we take on McMinn.”
Game Summary
District 5-4A
Tournament
Winner's bracket final
Monday, May 6
at Larry Haney Field
Cleveland 001 001 000 1 — 2 5 4
Walker Valley 101 100 000 0 — 2 7 2
WP: Lily O'Bryan 10 IP, 11 Ks, 4 BB, 7 hits, 0 ER. LP: Ryann Presswood 10 IP, 13 Ks, 0 BB, 5 hits, 1 ER. HR: Lily O'Bryan (C). 2B: O'Bryan (C); Morgan Rice (WV). RBI: O'Bryan 2, Reagan Campbell (C); Morgan Rice (WV). Highlights: O'Bryan 2-4 RS 2RBI, Lilly Mason RS, Jamaya Hill RS (C); Presswood 1-1, Madison Thomas 2-4 RS, Rice 4-4 RBI, Addyson Trew RS (WV).
