MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — A combination of things led to Grace Academy’s demise in its first state-tournament softball game. Cornersville’s execution was one. The Lady Golden Eagles’ lack of it was the other.

The Lady Bulldogs pushed across a run in the 10th inning when Grace couldn’t and won 1-0 in the Class A opener at the Starplex field No. 4.

Grace (31-8-2) will play Midway (25-5), a 4-0 loser to Forrest, at 11 this morning in the losers bracket.

The Lady Bulldogs won in the first inning the international tiebreaker went into effect. Lori Beth Adams began the 10th on second base and moved to third on a wild pitch. Amanda Griggs’ sharply hit grounder then got through an infielder and the run scored.

The Lady Golden Eagles tried playing for a tie but were unable to get a bunt down with no one out. Winning pitcher Savannah Cole ended the game with a strikeout and a popout.

Cole was locked in a duel with Lacye Walker, who limited Cornersville (33-4) to four hits while Cole held Grace to five. Cole finished with 18 strikeouts and no walks. Walker walked one and struck out nine.

“Once it got to the fifth inning and it was still 0-0, you figure one run is going to take care of the other team, one way or another,” Cornersville coach Spencer Mitchell said.

Despite not having a baserunner until Winter Simpson and Mara Reeves hit back-to-back singles in the sixth inning, Grace came closest to scoring in regulation.

Lexie Dean slapped an opposite-field double to left field with two out in the sixth, and Walker singled off the end of her bat afterward. Sarah King caught the hit on the first bounce and threw home, where Griggs applied the tag on a close play.

That was a good play from a good-armed center fielder and a good catcher who knew the runner was at the plate and she had to make a swipe at her,” Mitchell said.

Grace coach Tina Walker waved Dean around from the third-base coach’s box.

“I thought she had it,” Coach Walker said. “The ball wasn’t hit that hard, and it wasn’t hit that deep. Because of that it was going to take a perfect throw to get her. Had she slid to the outside of the plate instead of right into it I think she could’ve got it.

“This is not over yet, just because we’ve gone down one game. Our girls have had fight in them all year. We’re not going to lay over and die.”

Comments