MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — It took five innings for the Whitwell softball team to put a runner on base Thursday morning in the Class A state tournament.

By that time, the Lady Tigers already trailed Friendship Christian School by five runs. They ended their season with a 6-0 loss to the Lady Commanders in a losers-bracket game.

“I knew they were a good team,” Whitwell coach Grace Pickett said. “We played them here last year, and they had almost everybody back, so this was a good team we were playing.”

Friendship Christian pitcher Hailey Rutledge struck out the side in each of the first three innings. Brandi Nunley’s grounder to lead off the fourth was Whitwell’s first contact, and Taylor McDaniel’s single in the fifth was the first of the team’s two hits.

“I don’t know what the deal was,” Pickett said. “I thought we’d do a lot better than we did. She’s an excellent pitcher, and we just couldn’t get anything going at the plate.”

The Lady Commanders scored two runs in the bottom of the second inning on a single from Shelby McDonald and a ground ball from Megan Reeves, and they struck for three in the fourth on back-to-back doubles from Laurel Burroughs and Camille Cross.

After a double play ended Whitwell’s threat in the fifth, Rutledge continued to roll. She struck out two Lady Tigers in both the sixth and seventh innings, finishing the game with 15.

The loss ended the Lady Tigers’ season at 25-10 and finished the high school careers of the six seniors who helped them reach the state tournament two years in a row.

“I told the seniors they put Whitwell softball back on track,” Pickett said. “One day we’re going to win this thing, and when we do, they’ll be just as much a part of it as the girls who are playing.”

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