CCS, Sequatchie meet for 7-AA title
Chattanooga Christian secured a spot in the District 7-AA high school softball championship game by beating Grundy County 8-2 in the winners-bracket final Tuesday at Chattanooga Christian.
Sequatchie County then beat the Lady Yellow Jackets 8-2 in the losers-bracket final.
Sequatchie (16-9) and CCS (17-7) will play today at CCS at 6 p.m. for the district championship.
“We’ve all played each other multiple times,” CCS coach Lisa Gray said before she knew which team would be the Lady Chargers’ opponent in the final. “There are not really any surprises. We all know each other. I think in the end it’s, ‘Who’s going to be able to fight for the entire day?’”
Should the Lady Indians win, a second championship game would be played at 8. Both teams will move on to next week’s Region 4 tournament.
“There’s been a lot of competitiveness in our district this year,” said Sequatchie coach Kelly Somerville, whose team lost to the Lady Yellow Jackets in the winners bracket the day before. “Yesterday was Grundy’s day. Today was our day. It all depends on which way the ball falls.”
Madison Hollis was the Lady Chargers’ winning pitcher, allowing five hits and no walks while striking out five. And her tworun home run gave herself and CCS a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the third inning before her two-run single highlighted a three-run fourth.
Seven Lady Chargers had multi-hit games, paced by Lauren Kay’s 3-for-4 performance.
“We hit the ball well,” said Gray, whose team ended the game turning a scooped line drive into a triple play. “We came out attacking.”
Among the five who had two hits apiece, Shelby Houts, Madison Vandergriff and Holly Hendry each had an RBI and scored a run. One of Houts’ hits was a double.
Mackenzie Turner was Sequatchie’s winning pitcher. Three of the five hits she allowed came in Grundy’s two-run fourth. She walked two, hit one batter and struck out five.
“She’s really worked hard to get all of her pitches together,” Somerville said. “She’s peaking at the right time.”
Leah Underwood and Peyton Longson each went 3-for-4 for the Lady Indians. Underwood had a double and drove in two runs. The three each scored a run.
Hadley Gray got Sequatchie going with a two-RBI double in the first inning and finished 2-for4. Bailey Longson was also 2-for-4, driving in a run and scoring twice.
Chloe Scissom, who was 2-for-3 in Grundy’s first loss, singled ahead of Kara Meeks’ double in the fourth, and the Lady Jackets scored an out later on Kristen Weaver’s single.