Starting tournament play in Ooltewah on Friday, the Lady Pioneers were a little sluggish at the get-go, dropping two games Friday evening, one to Farragut, 6-5, and the late game to Hazel Green 11-1.
But after a good night’s rest, the Lady Pioneers started full bore on the competition, blanking Buckeye, 14-0, decimating LaVergne, 11-6, and defeating Sale Creek, 8-2, becoming the Jim Frost Ooltewah Invitational champs in the silver bracket.
“Overall I was pleased with the girls’ play over the course of the weekend. We lost a heart-breaker on Friday to Farragut and then got roughed up Friday night against Hazel Green, Alabama,” said Warren County Lady Pioneer coach Gooby Martin. “They responded well on Saturday. We won our last pool game Saturday morning against Buckeye, Ohio. That put us 1-2 in pool play and put us in the silver bracket single elimination tournament.”
“When the tournament started, the girls played hard and competed. That’s something we preached all off-season to play hard and compete. During the tournament we had one bad inning defensively, but we overcame that and were able to win out on Saturday. I am proud of the girls and our coaching staff on what we accomplished in Ooltewah,” Martin said. “Now the real season starts with district games scheduled throughout the rest of the season. Our goal is the district championship and we will continue to work as a coaching staff and team to reach that goal.”
Friday, March 31 games
Farragut 6
Warren County 5
It looked like the Lady Pioneers had their first game in the bag after jumping off to a 3-run lead in the top of the first inning after Emily Mikkola singled to short and was driven home after the big bat of Neva Tackett hit a double with a line drive to left field, 1-0.
Skyler Youngblood grounded to a fielder’s choice advancing Tackett to third. Makenna Mason entered to run for Youngblood who stole second. Hope Mullican then singled on a ground ball to center scoring Tackett and Mason, 3-0.
Both teams scored 2 runs in the third, and the Lady Pioneers retained their 3-run lead until the fifth after home runs by both Ashton Whiles and Youngblood. The Lady Admirals evened things up with 3 runs of their own after a single, a walk, and a home run to centerfield, their second of the contest, tied the ballgame, 5-5, after five innings.
Warren County couldn’t muster much offense in the top of the sixth, and it was Farragut who put the last run on the board cementing its lead scoring off a sacrifice and an error, 6-5.
Warren County lost despite out-hitting Farragut, 10-6.
Hope Mullican pitched the sixth inning to get the loss for the Lady Pioneers with 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 strikeouts and 0 walks. Maddie Cantrell pitched the first five with 6 hits, 5 runs, 1 strikeout and 1 walk.
Mikkola, Whiles and Mullican all had 2 hits for the Lady Pioneers, while Hailey Wood, Tackett, Youngblood and Grace Rains all had 1 hit apiece. Mullican had 2 RBIs and Tackett, Youngblood and Whiles had 1 each.
Hazel Green, Ala. 11
Warren County 1
The Lady Pioneers lost this one to the Lady Trojans in the first inning after Hazel Green scored 5 runs in the bottom of the first, and added 4 more runs in the bottom of the second before Warren County crossed home plate in the top of the third.
Scoring the only run in the matchup for the Lady Pioneers was Hailey Wood who crossed home in the top of the third after Neva Tackett singled on a hard grounder to right field, 9-1.
The contest ended after four innings as the Lady Trojans scored 1 run in the bottom of the third and 1 run in the bottom of the fourth to run-rule the Lady Pioneers, 11-1.
Emily Mikkola, Wood, Tackett and Madison Mason each managed one hit for Warren County.
Saturday, April 1 games
Warren County 14
Buckeye, Ohio 0
Saturday morning found the Lady Pioneers renewed as they shut out Buckeye Ohio’s Lady Bucks in four innings, 14-0.
Warren County’s Maddie Cantrell was starting pitcher for the Lady Pioneers with 2 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks and 2 strikeouts. Ashton Whiles came in for relief in the fourth inning, giving up 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks and 3 strikeouts. On top of the sharp pitching, the Lady Pioneer defense didn’t commit one error the entire ballgame.
Warren County was in the zone, jumping to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first as the Lady Bucks walked Hailey Wood and Emily Mikkola, followed by a long fly ball to left field for a double by Skyler Youngblood sending Mikkola home. With Madison Mason running the bases for Youngblood, Whiles hit a grounder and reached on an error at shortstop while Mikkola scored on a passed ball.
The Lady Bucks, still not able to come up with an answer to Warren County’s defense, had a short inning in the bottom of the second. Meanwhile, the Lady Pioneers put another run on the board in the top of the third after Madison Mason doubled on a line drive to centerfield, scoring Makenna Mason, 5-0.
It was a huge fourth inning for the Lady Pioneers that shortened the ballgame, as they scored 9 runs in the top of the ninth. Warren County scored on an error, a stolen base, a single by Makenna Mason, a double by Ashton Whiles, a double by Madison Mason, a single by Calyn Damon, a groundout by Savannah Cox, and a single by Lexie Chadwell.
Madison Mason went 2-for-3 at the plate to lead the Lady Pioneers in hits. Hailey Wood, Grace Rains Chadwell, Youngblood, Makenna Mason, Whiles, and Daymon all had hits for Warren County.
Warren County 11
LaVergne 6
The Lady Pioneers faced off against a Midstate opponent, heading into game four against the Lady Wolverines from LaVergne.
Warren County struck first with two runs in the top of the first as it was Neva Tackett again with a big hit to right field that drove in Emily Mikkola and Hailey Wood, 2-0. Despite this aggressive first-inning stance, the Lady Wildcats responded with prejudice, scoring 5 runs in the bottom of the inning to capture a 3-run lead, 5-2. Then LaVergne added an additional run in the bottom of the second, 6-2.
Showing they weren’t about to lay down for the Lady Wildcats, the Lady Pioneers responded at the next level, scoring 6 runs in the top of the third to regain the lead, 8-6.
In the bottom of the third, the Lady Pioneers were able to retire the Lady Wildcats who had two runners on base with a double play from Whiles on third to Tackett at first and then LaVergne retired the inning on strikes.
Putting the exclamation mark at the end of the statement, the Lady Pioneers scored 3 runs in the top of the fourth as Madison Mason singled driving in Ashton Whiles, 10-6, and Grace Rains singled on a fly ball to right field scoring Hope Mullican, 11-6.
Maddie Cantrell earned the win for Warren County as she threw for 2 innings, giving up 0 runs, 3 hits, 1 strikeout and 0 walks.
The Lady Pioneers collected 11 hits as Maddison Mason, Tackett, Rains and Hailey Wood had 2 hits each. Skyler Youngblood, Whiles and Mullican all had 1 hit apiece.
Warren County 8
Sale Creek 2
In their final Ooltewah tournament matchup, the Lady Pioneers had to defeat Sale Creek for the trophy. They didn’t hesitate and took the win 8-2, wrapping up the weekend with a hard-fought championship.
It would be the Lady Panthers who drew first blood, scoring 2 runs in the bottom of the first for a 2-0 early lead over the Lady Pioneers.
Not intimidated, Warren County made it a 1-run deficit after scoring at the top of the second when Hope Mullican took the opportunity to cross home plate after an error by the right fielder, 2-1.
Sale Creek wouldn’t score any more runs in the contest, and with the Lady Panthers tamed, the Lady Pioneers went on to score 4 runs in the top of the third, starting off with an Emily Mikkola home run that also scored Hailey Wood, 4-2, followed by a Ashton Whiles homer scoring McKenna Mason, 5-2.
The only other scoring in the contest came in the top of the sixth when Neva Tackett doubled to centerfield scoring Wood, 6-2, followed by a homer by Skyler Youngblood who also drove in Tackett, 8-2 for the final score.
Maddie Cantrell earned the win for the Lady Pioneers, throwing for six innings, allowing 2 runs, 7 hits, 1 strikeout and 0 walks.
The Lady Pioneers travel to Cumberland County on Thursday. Game time is 5 p.m.
