Now they’re ‘Cooke-ing’: WCHS downs Lady Cavs in 7-AAA opener
It’s been five years since the Lady Pioneer softball team opened its District 7-AAA season with a win.
But Tuesday, Warren County defeated district foe Cookeville 5-4 in front of a large home crowd to start their district campaign.
“I’m so happy for this team. These girls came out on this field with confidence today and played very well,” said head coach David Upton. “Our seniors showed their leadership, and kept this team focussed throughout the game.”
Junior Erica Warren took the mound for the Lady Pioneers and quickly sent the Lady Cavaliers back to the dugout. Warren got three grounders out of the first three Lady Caviler batters as the Lady Pioneer defense did its job in the first inning.
In the bottom of the first, Brittany Patterson produced a single and found her way to third but the Lady Pioneers failed to score in the inning.
In the top of the second defense by Warren County again shut down Cookeville as the Lady Cavaliers were retired 1-2-3, setting the stage for Warren County’s offensive attack in its half of the inning.
Tara Wood started the Lady Pioneers off with a solid base hit, and Kendra Savage placed a single between first and second which scored Wood. Warren slapped a single to right field to score Savage, and pinch-runner Jasmine Ware stole second, putting herself in position to score on Patterson’s fielder’s choice.
Candace Stubblefield hit into another fielder’s choice, but with bases loaded and two outs Cassie McGinness slipped one through the infield and scored Lacey Griffith to give Warren County a 4-0 lead by the end of the second.
Cookeville got on the score board in the top of the third after a walk and a base hit put runners at second and third with one out. A sacrifice fly scored the runner at third but the runner at second was called out for not tagging to end the inning. The Lady Pioneers produced a couple of hits in the bottom of the third but failed to score the runners as Warren County held a 4-1 lead going into the top of the fourth.
Cookeville wasn’t about to go down without a fight, however. In the fourth the Lady Cavilers tied the game at 4-4 with three base hits and three errors committed by the Lady Pioneers.
Both teams struggled in the fifth, and in the top of the sixth Cookeville went down in order. But in the bottom of the frame, Nikki Poe pinch-hit and drove a double to left field with one out for the Lady Pioneers. Griffith singled up the middle to score Poe with what would be the game-winning run.
Warren County’s defense pulled together in the top of the seventh to close out the game and pick up the crucial win.
Patterson went 3-for-4, with Griffith McGinness, Wood, Savage, Warren, Crystal Jones and Poe picking up one hit each. Warren County had six errors on the day while Cookeville had five.
“We are swinging the bat with a lot of confidence this year,” Upton said. “Last year the girls didn’t believe in themselves and this year they know they can go out and beat anybody. They play as a team and it’s so great to see how far these young ladies have come since last year.
“This was a big win for this team today. We made a few mistakes today but the girls never stopped fighting. They played hard all game and that’s all you can ask for.”