Freshman Lacey Keck throws 289 pitches in 1 day to lead Gibbs softball to state runner-up finish

MURFREESBORO — Lacey Keck didn't even have ice on her shoulder after Gibbs softball lost 2-1 to Lexington in the Class 3A championship.

After throwing 289 pitches over 18 innings on Saturday, the freshman ace's only complaint was a little soreness.

"It feels pretty good," she said. "It'll probably be a little bit sore later but it's OK now. I was just telling myself that I could do it and pushing myself to do the best that I can for my team."

Keck pitched a complete game 11-inning victory against Hardin County in the losers bracket final, leading the Eagles to a 7-6 win over the team that knocked them out of the winners bracket in the opening round.

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She went on to throw a complete game in the championship against Lexington (49-1). Keck ended the day with 14 strikeouts, 13 allowed hits and seven walks.

"Her being a freshman, we didn't know what she had in her," Gibbs coach Carol Mitchell said. "I asked her dad, and I asked her, and I felt like she would shoot me straight if she couldn't do it anymore. She kept telling me, 'I got this coach.' I can't say enough about her performance this week."

Mitchell said Keck didn't even show signs of fatigue until the seventh inning against Lexington. To her, the performance personified the mental toughness that the entire Eagles team showed this week.

"The losers bracket is rough ... you don't you don't see this type of competition every day when you're playing just your regular season schedule," Mitchell said. "To come out and be on your A game every single game, it says something about them that they could do that."

Gibbs (42-6) returns its entire starting lineup except for shortstop Gracie Palmer, a Lincoln Memorial signee.

"We know now the level that we have to take it to," Mitchell said. "This was really good for those young kids to experience because you can talk about playing for a state championship, but until you get to it, you don't really know. Hopefully next time, the outcome turns a little bit more in our direction."

Contact Emily Adams at eaadams@gannett.com or on Twitter @eaadams6.