The North Greene softball team got a taste of the state tournament a year ago, and ever since it has been hungry for more.
On Friday the Lady Huskies never stopped grinding and earned that return trip with a 5-1 win over Wartburg Central in the Class 1A State Sectionals.
“That is a really good team we just beat,” North Greene coach Avery Weems said. “I thought the girls made the right adjustments as the game went on. I’m really proud of these girls. They have been great all year, they have had a great postseason, and I feel like they have found their stride at the end of the year. They have done a great job down the stretch.”
Last year North Greene went to Class 1A State Tournament with a lineup filled with freshmen and went 1-2. Now nearly the entire lineup has experience on the big stage, and the Ladies Huskies will be looking to extend their stay in Murfreesboro a bit longer this time around.
“It’s great to be going state, but we still have a big road ahead,” North Greene senior Matti Phillips said. “We want to do more than just go to state. I feel like the other teams had more confidence than us last year. We need to take this momentum down there and play with confidence. I think our experience from last year can make a big difference this year.”
It took a while for North Greene’s bats to get going on Friday against Wartburg pitcher Braylen Melton, the same hurler who shut them out in the 2024 state sectionals. But once they started connecting the Lady Huskies used five doubles over the final three frames to push across five runs.
“They are always talking amongst themselves. They have real good team chemistry and are always telling each other what the pitcher is doing,” Weems said. “They are really good and making the adjustments and making sure the girl going up next knows what to expect. That is really a credit to their ability to work together as a team.”
It was the fourth inning when North Greene began to find life at the plate. Josie Graham led off the side by launching a double deep into the left-center gap. Matti Phillips, the lone senior in the starting lineup, came up with a big swing to give her team the lead. She sent a hot shot straight up the middle, that easily scored Graham. The ball made it all the way to the fence after Bradlee Sexton over ran it, and Phillips hustled all 240 feet to score on the play, giving her side a 2-1 advantage.
“I knew what she was trying to throw me. I waited back on it, saw it and hit,” Phillips said. “When (the centerfielder) missed the ball I knew I had second, but I definitely didn’t know that I had all four. It felt great seeing my teammates there at the plate waiting on a hug.”
With two outs in the fifth inning North Greene did more damage by adding three more runs. Eva Leonard got things going by dropping a single over the shortstop. Tralyn Southerland came up next and blasted a run-scoring double off the fence in left-center field.
Graham then sent a red-hot groundball down the third base line and deep into the left-field corner. She finished on second and Southerland made it all the way around.
Next Hannah Brooks went to the right-center gap for North Greene’s third consecutive RBI double.
The Lady Huskies defense locked in once it gained the lead and allowed just one base runner over the final three innings. Brooks struck out the three in that stretch and Phillips, who has been a stalwart in the Lady Huskies lineup for four years, pulled in the final out in her final game at North Greene. Shortly after she was mobbed by her jubilant teammates.
Graham led North Greene on Friday by going 2-for-2 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored. She also reached base on an ever rare catcher’s interference call.
“Josie was hitting the ball hard and she is seeing well right now. Then she’s swinging at good pitches. That’s what we have come to expect out of her,” Weems said.
Southerland was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Addi Dean had a triple while Brooks and Charlie Turnmire each had a double.
In the circle Brooks allowed just four hits and one run, while striking out eight and walking one.
“I watched a lot of film on them and my pitching coach actually texted me, telling me not give certain players certain pitches,” Brooks said. “I knew had to step up for my team. I kept moving the ball and it kept working.”
Wartburg’s lone spurt of offensive success came in the third inning. Tanner Moss led off with a chopper that stayed in the air long enough on the high bounce to allow her to reach safely. Presley Morgan knocked her home when she got ground ball to split the left side of the infield.
The Class 1A State Tournament will begin on Tuesday, May 19 in Murfreesboro. The Lady Huskies do not know their opponent yet, but first pitch will be at 4 PM central time.
