The Warren County Middle School softball team saw its three-game winning streak to start the season snapped on its home field Tuesday night.
Coffee County earned a 5-0 shutout victory as the Lady Pioneers finished the game with one hit while dropping to 3-1 this season.
Warren County had used a potent mix of clutch hitting, sterling pitching and solid defense to down Shelbyville twice and DeKalb County once in the opening week of the regular season, but Coffee County had the same blueprint to winning Tuesday and executed it better.
The Lady Raiders capitalized on a pair of Lady Pioneer errors to start the second inning while putting two runs on the board against Warren County starter Maddie Cantrell. Coffee County added another run in the third to put the Lady Pioneers in a big hole going into their final two at-bats.
Being at the plate looked like the last place Warren County wanted to be as the offense was stagnant. Before the fourth inning, the only two Lady Pioneer batters who reached base were Shonacye Rutledge and Marah Wanamaker on second-inning walks.
Warren County had a chance to rally in the bottom of the fourth inning when Coffee County finally showed a crack on defense. MaKenna Mason reached on an error with two outs, then Rutledge broke up the no-hitter by slapping a single into center field that helped Mason go all the way around to third.
Rutledge would steal second to put two runners aboard with two outs, but they would be stranded there when Wanamaker was caught looking at strike three on a 3-2 pitch.
Coffee County came up with two RBI singles in the fifth inning to push its advantage to five and cast serious doubts of a Lady Pioneer comeback.
Warren County got its lead-off batter on base in the fifth when Lexie Chadwell drew a walk, but Coffee County followed by turning a double play and ending the game on a groundout.
Cantrell took the loss while pitching all five innings and allowing five runs on eight hits while striking out two. Rutledge’s single was the lone offensive highlight for the Lady Pioneers.
Warren County will try to pile up wins this weekend while taking part in the DeKalb County playday. The Lady Pioneers are scheduled to play several games throughout the day, starting with a 9:15 a.m. contest against Watertown.