Boyd advances in 9-A tourney

Pitcher Cassie Wanamaker ducks out of the way to allow Boyd third baseman Becca Reynolds to throw out a runner during Thursday’s district tournament game.

Boyd entered the contest as the No. 3 seed taking on the No. 6-seeded Lady Cougars of Middle Tennessee Christian as Lady Bronco pitcher Cassie Wanamaker picked up her fifth no-hitter of the season.

Wanamaker fanned six Lady Cougars to get the win, while Marissa Moore took the loss giving up nine hits and walking seven, while the Lady Cougars committed five errors on the day. Boyd improved to 8-4 in district play and 17-5 on the season.

The Lady Broncos committed an error on the first batter of the game as MTCS got its leadoff batter on base, but the Lady Broncos’ defense came up with three ground balls to get out of the inning.

Wanamaker started the bottom of the inning off with a single down the third-base line. Kelcy Tate was hit by a pitch and Megan Boren reached on a bunt, which loaded the bases. Leah Walker drew a walk, which sent a run to the plate giving Boyd a 1-0 lead.

In the top of the second the Lady Cougars put a pair of runners on base on a walk and an error on the third baseman. But Wanamaker fanned the next two batters to get out of the inning.

The Lady Cougars found themselves in trouble in the bottom of the inning after a pair of walks and another error loaded the bases. Wanamaker drew a walk, which scored a run. The next two batters were retired, but with two outs Walker reached on an error to score another run. Danna Wells drew a walk, plating one more run to put Boyd out in front 4-0. With two outs Sara Buckner drove a single up the middle that cleared the bases to help her team to a 7-0 advantage by the end of the inning.

In the bottom of the third, Wanamaker picked up a RBI on a single and made her way to third. Tate dropped down a bunt for the fielder’s choice, which let Wanamaker score giving Boyd a 9-0 lead heading into the top of the fourth.

Wanamaker retired the side on strikes in the top of the fourth. Walker led off the bottom of the inning with double, and Wells followed with a RBI single. After a pair of walks, Wanamaker drew another free pass, which scored a run. Boren singled for two RBIs and Walker followed with a RBI single to end the game as Boyd advanced to the next round.

Wanamaker, Boren and Walker had two hits each. Buckner, Tate and Wells added one hit each.

Boyd was scheduled to take on Cascade on Saturday.