Leading 4-1 in the fifth inning, Gooby Martin had one message for his Lady Pioneers. The head coach wanted more runs. His team obliged.
Warren County rolled off six runs in the fifth, then added one more in the sixth to top Rhea County 11-1 and earn a pivotal District 6AAA victory.
“When we get ahead, we sometimes go through the motions and we’re not good enough to do that,” said Martin, whose team is now 8-6-1 and 3-1 in district play. “When we push the pedal, we’re a good team and can score runs quickly. We have to keep it down for seven innings. It’s what we have to do to be successful.”
Last week’s late home loss to Cookeville, when Warren County blew a 7-4 lead in the seventh inning, seemed to be fresh in Martin’s mind when his team came off the field midway through the fifth inning. Martin delivered a passionate speech to the Lady Pioneers, who did all their damage in the frame on two outs.
Calyn Damon began the onslaught with a two-run single, scoring Rhealee Johnson and Madison Hollis. Elia Atterson followed with an RBI double before scoring on an error to make it 8-1.
Hailey Wood kept the offense rolling with an RBI single, bringing around Grace Rains. Wood took second on the throw home, then stole third during Emily Mikkola’s at-bat.
Wood scored when Mikkola, who walked, made a break for second. Mikkola was able to swipe second while Wood pushed the lead to 10-1 when she scampered in on a dropped ball at the bag.
Sadie Simmons delivered the knock-out blow in the sixth, scoring Shelby Roberts with a single to end the game by run-rule. Simmons also earned the victory, pitching five innings and surrendering a lone run in the first inning.
Unsung Hero
Damon started the season trying to compete for a role, either in left field or as designated hitter. The junior may be irreplaceable in the order now.
After appearing in just four of the team’s first seven games - and going 1-for-6 - Damon has been on fire. With two more hits Thursday, Damon extended her hitting streak to eight games and improved her batting average to a robust .517.
District 6AAA POY
returning to form
Wood is starting to round into the form that made her the district’s top player last season. With two hits Thursday and two hits in Wednesday’s 17-0 victory over Stone Memorial, Wood raised her average to .327. She’s 7-for-17 (.467) in four district games with two walks, five runs scored and two stolen bases. The Lady Pioneers are 4-1 this season when Wood has a multi-hit game.
District domination
Warren County has exhausted the scoreboard in district games the last two seasons. Thursday’s 11-1 victory was the 10th time since the start of last year where the Lady Pioneers scored in double figures against a district foe. The Lady Pioneers are 13-4 (three losses to Cookeville) and have scored 188 runs in that span.
