Scotts Hill stays ahead for sectional win
SOUTH FULTON – Scotts Hill softball coach Tyler Sowell needed to have a meeting with his players’ parents Saturday evening, but it was the good kind.
He had to inform the group of the logistics for going to Murfreesboro for the state tournament after the Lady Lions beat South Fulton 5-4.
Hotel accommodations, daily lunch plans, pre-tournament practices and raising funds to pay for the trip were all discussed, but Sowell said he was glad to have those agenda items to deal with.
“This is great because I don’t think there’s a better lineup in the state from batter 1 through 9, and these girls deserve this chance,” Sowell said. “I’m so proud for them.”
The Lady Lions were on the road after falling in the Region 8-A championship to Adamsville, and South Fulton had a good day offensively when they won the 7-A championship at Huntingdon.
Sowell said he knew South Fulton would be a tough team to beat.
“Looking at their fence right now and what they’ve done in the past, it’s kind of intimidating knowing how many times they’ve been this far and how many times they’ve been further,” Sowell said. “But that goes to show how well our team played today.”
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Things started well for the Lady Lions. Chelsey Gore beat out a grounder to first to reach base to lead the game off in the top of the first. She stole second and made it to third on a throwing error and was 60 feet away from home before Scotts Hill’s second batter, Harley Bartholomew, had received her second pitch.
Bartholomew reached on an error and drove Gore in for the first run of the game.
“Getting off to a good start like that was really big to go ahead and have something to build off of,” Sowell said. “And it was good for us.”
The Lady Lions continued to put hits together for another run in the first and one each in the second through fourth innings.
Gore finished 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Cassie McBride went 2-for-3. Bartholomew went 1-for-3 with her RBI and Phillips finished 1-for-2 with two RBI.
The run in the third came off a Shayla Phillips home run over the left field fence.
The defense did a good job most of the time fielding.
“I don’t remember many errors for us, and Shanna [Lindsey] pitched a good game,” Sowell said. “She got some backup from her teammates in the field.”
Two notable plays on defense came in the seventh inning. Brooklyn Eason made a jumping grab at second base to stop a line drive that probably would’ve been in the right-center gap to start the inning. The game ended when Phillips ran toward the left field line for a game-clinching out.
“Those two plays were big for us in an important time,” Sowell said. “So these girls worked for this opportunity.”
The Lady Lions will learn their draw Sunday and will play their first state game in program history Tuesday in Murfreesboro.
Brandon Shields, 425-9751