The faces and lineups may change, but the Warren County Middle School softball team keeps chugging along.
The Lady Pioneers flexed their muscles at home Friday night, beating visiting DeKalb County 7-2. It was the team’s second win in three games despite having to replace several key players from last season when Warren County finished second in the Central Tennessee Conference.
At this point, coach Joe Damon doesn’t worry much about the lineup cards. The third-year coach knows the next group of girls are always ready for the challenge.
“It’s different every year. You think you’re going to have some step in to fill the shoes of other, but the team always changes,” said Damon. “There’s always a rotation, but the girls always work hard and make it work out.”
It was a group effort offensively Friday, with six players finishing with hits to back up Brooklyn Cope’s performance in the circle. Cope kept DeKalb County flustered with her floating changeup, a pitch the visitors never seemed to figure out.
Cope picked up the win by going the distance and striking out five while allowing just four hits.
Halle Lowe spotted her team a three-run lead in the first inning with a clutch shot. With the bases loaded and two outs, Lowe was able to shoot a hot shot through the left side of the infield, scoring Jazz Ward and Maggy Whiles.
Maddox Adams had already made it 1-0 before Lowe’s at-bat. With the bases loaded, Callie Roberts hit a slow roller to shortstop. Adams raced home from third, beating the throw to the plate to score the game’s first run.
DeKalb County cut it to 3-2 in the third, but the Lady Pioneers closed the door late.
Whiles singled and scored in the third, making it 4-2. She would add a sac fly in the fourth, pushing the lead to five after Adams and Ward added RBIs.
“We played well. The bats are coming around – it’s slow, but they’re coming around. The defense has been solid. We haven’t had any glaring errors that you would want to throw your hat about,” said Damon.
Gracie Randolph added two hits in Friday’s victory.
WCMS will off until Friday, March 27 when it travels to play Prescott South in Cookeville. The JV team is scheduled to play in this weekend's Cascade tournament.
