Runs were at a premium, and for Grainger nonexistent, as the Greeneville Lady Devils carried out a slim 2-0 win over the Lady Grizzlies in Tuesday night’s clash.
“It felt awesome. It’s really big to come play at home and to do their job and they did that today,” Head Coach Lilly Million expressed. “I’m proud that they came out ready to play.”
The contest was an important one. Greeneville needed a win to inch one step closer to securing the No. 1 spot in the District 2-3A Tournament along with the regular season championship. But first, they needed to go through Grainger. Greeneville had not beaten Grainger in a regular season home game since 2023. And it took every bit of effort and grit to get it done on Tuesday night.
Senior Brynlee Jones was aware of how Grainger would always leave Greene County with a win and wanted that to change. Jones did her fair share and effectively shut Grainger down with a 15-strikeout performance.
“All of my pitches were working and everything was working tonight, especially the screwball, and they were just swinging at a lot of pitches,” Brynlee stated. She continued by explaining the history with Grainger on Greeneville’s home field, “It felt good, especially beating Grainger at home, because we used to have a saying that ‘they always beat us at home’ but we got them this time.”
Brynlee’s performance was one to remember. Jones only allowed 3 hits and 3 walks across 7 shutout innings. At the plate she was 1-for-3 with a double.
Coach Million spoke about Jones’ performance by saying, “She was throwing really well tonight. I told her after the first inning or so I was proud of her velocity considering she threw Sunday. All pitchers after this point in the season their velocity tends to drop. But she was slinging it tonight. I’m super proud of her.
With only two runs and seven hits, the offense was scarce. Abi Deeble was the only player with a multi-hit game and went 2-for-3. Kaley Garland was 1-for-3 and scored a run in the sixth inning. Gabby Atchison and Brooke Parsley were each credited with an RBI.
“I was proud of the people who got it going tonight. It was the bottom of our lineup that really got them going. They did that and the top half was struggling, but the bottom half got it done. So, I’m proud of them,” Coach Million bragged.
Greeneville improved to 15-14-1 with the win and improved to 6-1 in District 2-3A.
Both pitchers dueled against one another and held both offenses to zero hits in the first two innings. Brynlee Jones recorded four strikeouts in the first two while Greeneville only struck out twice.
McKinley Mills recorded the game’s first hit with a sharp grounder to third, but Jones retired the next two batters to end the top of the third.
Abi Deeble singled for Greeneville’s first hit and set up the first run. Katie Johnson was hit by a pitch and Brylee Tullock singled to load the bases with one out. Gabby Atchison drove home the first run with a ground out and helped Greeneville take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third.
Jones kept dealing and picked up her seventh and eighth strikeouts in the fourth to hold Grainger in check. Kaylee Sturgill led off the fifth with a single, but Jones struck out three-straight batters to continue holding Grainger scoreless.
Abi Deeble and Katie Johnson tried recreating the same magic from the third inning and singled in back-to-back at bats to put two runners on with no outs. Grainger’s Destanee Davis recorded three-straight outs and spoiled Greeneville’s chance to extend their lead.
Jaylee Hayes singled to lead off with a hit in the sixth, but Brynlee Jones played spoiler next and collected a couple more strikeouts to hold Grainger without a run once again.
Kaylee Garland started the bottom frame with a single and set up the next run. Brynlee Jones doubled next to move Garland into scoring position. Brooke Parsley singled and drove Garland home for a 2-0 lead. The Lady Devils left the bases loaded, but only needed three more outs to close it out.
Brynlee Jones slammed the door on Grainger and finished her shutout win with two more strikeouts and coincidentally ended the game with a K to win 2-0.
Greeneville heads to Church Hill for another important District 2-3A matchup with Volunteer on Thursday. If Greeneville wins, the Lady Devils clinch the regular season title and No. 1 seed in the tournament.
