Lady Trojans ousted
Riverdale tops Soddy-Daisy 2-1 in sectional
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Staff Photo by Tim Barber Riverdale's Kelsey Choate, left, is blocked from touching second base by Soddy-Daisy shortstop Alex Everett. Riverdale advances to the state tournament by beating the Lady Trojan's 2-1.
RIVERDALE 2, SODDY-DAISY 1
Riverdale 000 100 1 — 2 5 0
Soddy-Daisy 000 010 0 — 1 7 1
WP: Samantha Hoadwonic (24-3), 3 Ks, 1 BB, 1 HBP. LP: Kelsey Nunley (21-3), 4 Ks, 0 BB. 3B: Alice O’Brien, Dene Souviney (R); Brooke Ward (SD). 2B: Hoadwonic (R). Highlights: O’Brien 2-3, run; Hoadwonic 2-3; Souviney RBI (R); Alex Everett 1B, RBI; Ward run (SD). Records: Riverdale 41-6; Soddy-Daisy 39-4-1.
Riverdale’s softball team made a two-hour trip Friday and played well enough that the Lady Warriors earned a trip to their back yard.
Two late throws, the last to the plate, gave courtesy runner Donte Souviney enough time to score from second base on a single by Bre Thomas in the top of the seventh inning, and Riverdale edged Soddy-Daisy 2-1 in a Class AAA high school state sectional.
Riverdale (41-6) gets to play next week in Murfreesboro, where it is located, but has made more than its share of fruitless trips to the Soddy Lake Kids’ Park.
“Somebody asked me, ‘What does that make you now, about 1 out of 20 against Clifford?’” Riverdale coach Jeff Breeden said of Clifford Kirk, who has guided eight teams to Class AAA state titles, six at Soddy-Daisy. “I’m just glad the one is right now.”
Two were out when Samantha Hoadwonic doubled to right-center. Breeden had used Maria Frebis as a courtesy runner for his pitcher earlier, but right fielder Brooke Ward had thrown her out trying to score in the fifth.
Souviney easily got to third in the seventh when Thomas hit her hard grounder to right field, which Ward tried to scoop after charging the ball. She stopped it but had to turn around and bend over to pick it up. Ward’s throw went to first, but it was not in time to get Thomas.
“I was going to hold (Souviney) up until I saw her fumble the ball,” Breeden said. “Then I re-sent her. I was glad to see the throw go to first. There could’ve been a play at the plate.”
First baseman Whitney Johnson turned and threw home, but catcher Taylor Wilson couldn’t make the tag in time on the sliding Souviney.
“We knew they were going to try to score the runner from second base,” Kirk said. “Still, if we don’t fumble it, we throw her out at first and it’s a moot point then.”
The Lady Warriors had taken a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning. After Alice O’Brien tripled, Lady Trojans pitcher Kelsey Nunley registered two outs while keeping O’Brien at third. Dene Souviney then tripled her in.
Soddy-Daisy tied it in the fifth when Ward scored after tripling with one out. Hoadwonic recorded one of her three strikeouts for the second out, but Alex Everett then singled into right-center.
Andie Johnson singled with one out in the bottom of the first and got as far as third after moving up on a groundout and stealing a base. Wilson hit a one-out single in the second and Mariam Wood singled an out later. That was the only time the Lady Trojans had two hits in an inning, other than when they scored.
“We hit the ball,” Kirk said. “We just didn’t get hits when we needed them — key hits.”
Soddy-Daisy (39-4-1) graduates Whitney Johnson, pitcher Alesha Buckner and Ashlee England, a 2008 all-city outfielder who missed this season because of an ACL tear she suffered during basketball season. Each loss was by one run.
“I thought we had a good season,” Kirk said. “Despite the fact we’re disappointed in not going to the state, I’m not disappointed in the way the kids played or as hard as they played. I can’t fault them for that.”
