MURFREESBORO – The North Greene softball team’s exciting run through the postseason came to an end on Thursday at the hands of Jo Bryns in the Class 1A State Tournament.
The young Lady Huskies finish the year with a 24-8 record and as one of the top six teams in the state.
“Today we just didn’t hit it. We knew they had a couple of good pitchers and we just didn’t have good at bats,” North Greene coach Avery Weems said. “We saw what level it takes to win here, and we aren’t at that level yet. We have to work to get there. We’re a good ball club, but this will give us something to work towards in the offseason.”
On Thursday in an early morning contest North Greene could never figure out Jo Byrns pitchers Kaliyah Lucas and Callie Yates. The Lady Huskies did not have a baserunner until the third inning, and did not have a hit until the sixth inning when Matti Phillips put a double into the left-center gap. North Greene was held to one hit and struck out 17 times in the seven innings.
“We’re not used to seeing that level of pitching during the regular season, and we saw three really good pitchers down here this week. That is something we are going to have to learn from. We have to prepare for that better, but its hard to do that when you don’t have many practices this time of year,” Weems said.
North Greene will bring back eight of its nine starters from Thursday’s game back next year, and Weems is hopeful that his squad learned from their experiences in Murfreesboro, which included the Lady Huskies first state tournament win since 2021.
“It’s good to get down here, but we want to come down here and win,” Weems said. “We want to compete for state championships, and with the girls we have on our team I think we can in the next couple of years. They have seen the level of play here, and seen what it takes to win here. We have seen where we want to get to too, and these girls have seen what they need to work on.”
The morning contest started with Jo Bryns scoring two runs in the top of the first inning to take a quick lead. Leadoff hitter Miley Head skipped a ground ball through the right side to start things and then scored on a wild pitch. Yates sent a hard ground ball down the third base line to score Ella Resha from second.
North Greene found its first scoring opportunity in the third inning when Charlie Turnmire and Kinlea Eastep each walked and moved up on a passed ball. Jo Bryns was able to end the threat with a strikeout.
The Lady Red Devils stretched their lead to 7-0 in the fourth frame. Faith Holt, Yates and Makynli Arnold started things with consecutive singles. Lauren Vaughan scored two on a ground ball through the right side, and she scored by beating a throw home on an infield hit.
In the sixth inning North Greene had another chance. Jourdanne Marr walked and Matti Phillips put her on third with a double that split the left-center gap. That was North Greene’s only hit on Thursday, and again a strikeout ended the inning.
Jo Bryns final two runs crossed in the seventh inning. Lucas scored on a fielder’s choice and Holt scored on an error.
Hannah Brooks took the loss for the Lady Huskies. In three innings she walked two and allowed seven hits. Turnmire threw two innings with one walk and one hit allowed. Phillips threw two innings with two walks and one hit allowed.
For North Greene seniors Loren Blevins and Jourdanne Marr, Thursday marked the end of their time as Lady Huskies.
“We had two great seniors,” Weems said. “I don’t think Loren played softball until her freshman year, but she turned into a really good player for us. Loren always does what you ask and she works hard. Jourdanne worked hard for us as well and she got to where she helped us in some big games. We were able to plug her in and not miss a beat.”
