Through heavy production from the top of their lineup and a late-game surge, the Greeneville softball team kept its season going strong on Tuesday night with a 12-2 win over Claiborne in the District 2-3A Tournament.
After Monday night’s defeat to Grainger Greeneville needed a strong performance to build confidence back. It played a competitive game through the first four innings and finally heated up in the fifth and sixth innings to pile on eight runs to enact the run rule.
After a win to keep the season alive, Head Coach Lilly Million was happy with what she saw on the field, “I’m feeling great. They came out ready to play tonight and I couldn’t be happier. They did what they had to do to win and we came out with a win so I’m super happy.”
The top five in Greeneville’s lineup had outstanding nights and combined to go 13-for-18, with two walks, 11 RBIs, nine runs, a home run, a triple, and four doubles.
Kyla Jobe provided another solid night going 3-for-4 with 3 runs and 3 RBIs. Kaley Garland started off with her second-straight leadoff home run and set the pace early. She finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs. Destani Bailey tore the cover off the ball and went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two doubles.
Coach Million was proud of the production she received from her top five, “It was super great. Last night after the loss we talked about our biggest adjustment we needed to make was getting RBIs, especially late in the game, and we did that tonight. The last inning we came out ready to win and ready to score and they did that.”
Jamie Jackson pitched all six innings and turned in a quality performance with three hits, one earned run, and seven strikeouts.
Greeneville now gets a chance at revenge with Grainger on Wednesday afternoon. They will square off at 5:30 at Hardin Park for the opportunity to play Volunteer for the District 2-3A Championship. The winner also advances to next week’s Region 1-3A Tournament.
“I think the mindset is to keep the momentum going. Softball is a game of momentum and they’ve got to carry that into tomorrow. Keep the hits rolling, keep the defense going. We made routine outs tonight and I couldn’t be happier with that, but our pitching was great tonight too so I’m super proud of them,” Million expressed.
Garland’s leadoff homer set the pace for Greeneville and handed the Lady Devils an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
A well-executed sacrifice bunt scored a run for Claiborne in the top of the second to tie it. They gained a brief lead in the top of the third with an RBI-single to go up 2-1. Greeneville made sure that didn’t last long and went back on top 4-2 after the third.
Garland walked and Baylee Ramsey doubled to put two in scoring position with Jobe on deck. The Tennessee commit sent a rocket to right field that resulted in a two-RBI triple. Brynlee Jones scored Jobe on a sacrifice fly.
Jobe’s run was a special one. She crossed the plate for the 214th time as a Lady Devil and broke the all-time scoring record in Greeneville softball history.
Ramsey and Jones were the other two apart of Greeneville’s top five. Ramsey went 2-for-4 with one RBI and two runs. Jones went 2-for-2 with a walk, two RBIs, and one run.
Bailey helped score the next pair of runs. Jobe led off the fifth with a single and Jones drew a walk. Bailey roped a hard-hit grounder down the first base line and scored both runners. Greeneville led 6-2 after five.
Greeneville blew the game wide open in the sixth with a six-run inning to send everyone home early. Ramsey hit an RBI-single to score Lewandowski, Jobe hit an RBI-single to score Garland, and Jones hit a two-RBI single to score Ramsey and Jobe. Three-straight RBI-singles were then followed by an RBI-double from Bailey to score Roark. When the lineup wrapped back around to the top, Garland found a spot in the outfield to safely land the game-ending RBI-single to score Lamons.
Greeneville celebrated keeping their season alive with a 12-2 win over Claiborne. They move on to play Grainger tomorrow in the loser’s bracket final of the District 2-3A Tournament. They will play at 5:30 at Hardin Park.
“We’ll focus on winning every inning. That was kind of the approach tonight too. If we get behind don’t let it affect us emotionally and carry our momentum. I’m excited. I think we’ll show up ready to win so I’m super excited,” Coach Million said.
