Looking for signs proved to be pointless for the Lady Pioneers Thursday night against Stone Memorial. Everybody already knew coach David Upton was going to be calling for a bunt.
Warren County’s commitment to small ball seemed to confuse and frustrate the visiting Lady Panthers as the Lady Pioneers won 10-5 to claim their first victory this season.
Warren County (1-3) came into the game on a three-game losing streak in which the Lady Pioneers were beaten by 10 or more each time. In those three games, the offense had produced two runs. On Thursday night, the Lady Pioneers topped that mark in each of the third and fourth innings.
Bunting was a big reason why.
Coach Upton had decided before the game when his team got runners aboard, he’d try to move them into scoring positions with sacrifice bunts. His idea worked even better than planned when the Lady Pioneers used their speed and perfect placement to reach base.
Warren County trailed 2-0 entering the bottom of the third when small ball took over for the home team. Ty Ramirez started the rally by dropping a slow roller down the third-base line and reaching base on an overthrow to first. Ramirez never stopped running as she rounded first and got to second to give the Lady Pioneers a runner in scoring position.
Neva Tackett followed with a bunt, which seemed to catch Stone Memorial off guard. The freshman first baseman beat the throw to put runners on the corners.
Keeping the ball rolling, coach Upton had clean-up hitter Lexi Locke bunt as well. The Lady Panthers still hadn’t adjusted and Locke reached without a throw, loading the bases for Lindsey Cox.
Cox slapped a ball in the infield, putting all Lady Pioneer runners in motion. Stone Memorial tried to throw home to get Ramirez, but she was too quick. Her slide took down the Lady Panther catcher just as the ball went flying by. Tackett took advantage of the ball rolling through and came in to score.
Seeing the strategy working to perfection, senior Chelsey Chandler continued the trend by dropping down a bunt in front of the pitcher. Chandler swiftly sprinted to first, where the throw was too high for the Stone Memorial first baseman. Locke and Cox each scored on the overthrow, giving Warren County a 4-3 lead.
Abby Hutchins made it a two-run game when she belted a triple down the right-field line to bring in Chandler.
Stone Memorial got one run back in the top of the fourth, but the Lady Pioneer bats were just warming up.
Bailey Walker and Ramirez started the bottom of the fourth by reaching on hits in the infield. Locke joined her teammates on base when she was hit by a pitch, filling the bases for Chandler. The senior center fielder drove a shot into the gap that scored all three of her teammates and gave the Lady Pioneers an insurmountable 9-4 lead. Chandler added to the lead by scoring on a passed ball.
Stone Memorial sent a scare into the Lady Pioneers with a lead-off home run to start the fifth. It got worse on the next pitch when Warren County starter Kailyn Cantrell got hit in the head with a line drive, though the senior hurler was able to recover and throw the girl out at first base. Coach Upton decided to use caution and removed Cantrell, who got a glove on the ball before it struck her.
Cox finished the game in the circle and recorded four strikeouts in her two-plus innings of work. Cantrell earned the win by working four-plus innings and giving up four runs on seven hits while striking out three.
The Lady Pioneers were back in action Friday with a pair of games in the Gordonsville tournament held in Cookeville. Warren County lost 10-0 to Bearden, but bounced back to beat Dumont, Ky., 3-2.
The Lady Pioneers played two more games on Saturday, but the results were unavailable at press time. Warren County will play Rhea County at home Tuesday with the game starting at 5 p.m.