The Warren County High School softball team was facing enough pressure Friday when it tried to snap a nearly decade long losing streak at Coffee County. Adding a raucous home crowd featuring members of the CCHS student body only added more obstacles for the Lady Pioneers.
Warren County continued its struggled with the Lady Raiders when it fell 14-4 in five innings on a dreary day in Manchester.
Rain threatened to wash away the game, but the weather held off just long enough for the Lady Raiders to win in a rout – which has become a custom for Coffee County in the border battle. The Lady Raiders, who are no longer a district foe, have a winning streak that dates back to when the current Lady Pioneers were in elementary school and nothing seemed to change Friday.
Warren County found itself down 4-0 after the first inning when Brittany Williams cleared the bases on a sharply hit ball through the middle that Warren County shortstop Lindsey Cox couldn’t snag. Three Lady Raiders, who each reached on walks, came in to score on the play as Coffee County wasted little time building its lead.
The home team would add three more runs in the second inning – two coming on passed balls and another scoring on a double by Anna Spellings.
By the time the Lady Pioneers got back to the plate for the third time against Coffee County ace pitcher Brianna Jones, the visitors were down 7-0. Warren County would cut into the lead in the third inning, but it couldn’t sustain momentum.
Bailey Walker started a two-out rally in the top of the third with a single to center field. Ty Ramirez followed with an infield hit, giving the Lady Pioneers two on and nobody out. Neva Tackett continued her recent tear at the plate with a two-run double to score both Walker and Ramirez. Tackett, a freshman, hit a home run in Warren County’s win early last week over Cumberland County and currently is one the team’s leaders in RBIs and batting average.
The rally continued when Cox was hit by a pitch and joined Tackett on base.
Both players got into scoring position on a passed ball, which was followed by senior Chelsey Chandler slapping a double into the gap to pull the Lady Pioneers within three at 7-4. Jones stopped the Warren County spurt with a strikeout.
The Lady Raiders got their lead back to four in the bottom of the third with an RBI double from Bethany Baker, then Coffee County would put the game away in the fourth inning.
Lady Pioneer starter Kailyn Cantrell surrendered only two hits in the fourth inning, but three walks, one hit batter and a passed ball helped the Lady Raiders score at will. An error by Abbi Reyes in right field also brought around two runs for the home team as Coffee County built its lead to 14-4 with six runs in the frame.
Warren County came to the plate in the fifth inning knowing it needed a run to extend the game, but the Lady Pioneers failed to score and were defeated by run rule for the third time this season while falling to 4-12 overall.
Warren County will try to get back in the win column at home Monday when it plays host to Moore County. The first pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.