Lady Owls Ousted From State Softball With Losses To Dyer County, Halls

  • Wednesday, May 22, 2019
  • Larry Fleming
Ooltewah softball pitcher Annalee Moore delivers a pitch toward the target presented by catcher Cheyanne Sales in a Wednesday game against Dyer County at the Class 3A state tournament in Murfreesboro. Dyer beat the Lady Owls, 3-2.
Ooltewah softball pitcher Annalee Moore delivers a pitch toward the target presented by catcher Cheyanne Sales in a Wednesday game against Dyer County at the Class 3A state tournament in Murfreesboro. Dyer beat the Lady Owls, 3-2.
photo by Dennis Norwood

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – There were multiple reasons Dyer County defeated Ooltewah, 3-2, Wednesday in the Class 3A state softball tournament at the Starplex complex.

One was junior pitcher Payton Reasons.

The gritty righthander held Lady Owls to two runs and a bunch of frustration, hitting balls harmlessly into a stiff wind that resulted in easy outs throughout the game.

Another reason?

Every time Ooltewah scored, the Lady Choctaws answered with scores, including the game-winning run resulting from a double by Hailey Sipes, Reasons’ batterymate, and the one-out walk-off RBI single from Madison Garner.

“That was frustrating,” Lady Owls shortstop Sydney White. “We score, they score. This one hurt.”

White, who missed a big chunk of the season with an arm injury, said the team needed leadership and she, Cheyanne Sales and other seniors made that happen.

“I played at GPS as an eighth-grader and it’s tough,” White said. “I was looking around and girls looked better and I said, ‘I can’t do this.’ I know our underclassmen may have felt the same way and we had to help them.

“It was like flipping a switch. The season became special to all of us because everyone doubted us and we proved them wrong because we’re at state. We still have a chance to go further.”

Mongar agreed. She allowed Sales to start calling pitches and gave the seniors more responsibility down the stretch.

“Little things like Cheyanne calling the pitches was something I thought would help the team,” Mongar said. “I’ve done that now and then and I trust Cheyanne in what she’s doing.”

The Lady Owls faced Halls later in the day in an elimination game and not much went right and Halls took advantage of seven errors won 9-4.

“We have to regroup quick for the next game,” said Sales, a Kennesaw State University signee. “If we lose again, we’re out and that’s no what we came over here to do.”

The fact the Lady Owls consistently went with upper-cut swings and that resulted in 12 pop-ups or lazy fly balls to the outfield, enough to rub a few nerves of coach Kerilyn Mongar.

“We were swinging at her (Reasons) stuff and not waiting for our stuff,” Mongar said. “We had several opportunities with runners on base but couldn’t get them home. You have to do the simple things to make big things happen.”

That occurred in the first inning.

Addy Keylon started the game for the visiting Lady Owls with an aggressive bunt single. Lexi Vogel attempted a bunt but lined the ball straight to third baseman Madison Garner. Sales lined an RBI single to right. White walked but Madalyn Mills grounded out and Aubrey Smith flied out to right.

All threw Ooltewah outs in the third were fly balls to the outfield. Another came in the fourth, two in the fifth, two in the sixth and finally two in the seventh when the Lady Owls had two base runners.

In Dyer County’s first inning, Ava Ozment smacked a no-doubt solo home run to left. Garner doubled and scored on Reagan Thompson’s single up the middle off Ooltewah pitcher Annalee Moore.

Moore, a sophomore who took over the team’s top spot in the rotation down the stretch, was in jams five innings and worked out them to keep the Lady Owls within striking distance of the Lady Choctaws (27-13).

Ooltewah tied the game in the sixth. White led off with a single and Mills moved her to second with a sacrifice bunt. Smith flied out to center and designated player Mackenzie Patterson punched White’s ticket to home with a single to left field. Moore popped out to short to end the threat.

Patterson went 3 for 3 on the day.

The Lady Choctaws answered Ooltewah’s score for the second time.

Sipes started the inning with a one-hop double to the left-field fence. Ozment flied out to Makala Strickland in right field. Garner, a senior, ripped a single to left and Sipes easily scored the game-winner run.

Moore worked 6 1/3 innings and gave up 11 hits and three runs while striking out two and walking one and did it with only 88 pitches.

“I thought she pitched well but we didn’t do a whole lot to help her,” Mongar said. “And for the most part we had things covered with our defense.”

Reasons went the distance for Dyer County, giving up seven hits and two runs. She struck out four and walked three.

Halls 9, Ooltewah 4: The Lady Red Devils built a 7-0 lead before the Lady Owls could dent the scoreboard with four runs in the fourth inning.

Vogel and Sales each singled to start Ooltewah’s only scoring inning. White followed with a two-run double, Aubrey Smith singled to push White home and Patterson’s double sent Smith across with the fourth run.

“It was tough,” Mongar said of the second game. “We weren’t making routine plays and I don’t know if we were nervous or what. I thought we were better than both teams that beat us today.

“I told the girls after the Halls game that it’s always hard after the last game. We were in the final eight teams after nobody thought we could get out of the district. Nobody thought we’d get to state.”

Sales went 2 for 2 in her final high school games and White, also a senior, was 1 for 4 with the two-run double.

Patterson, yet another senior, pitched seven innings and gave up 11 hits and nine runs – six were earned – while striking out three and walking four.

The Lady Owls finished the season with a 22-16 record.

Linescore

Ooltewah              100 001 0 – 2 7 0

Dyer County         200 000 1 – 3 11 0

Moore and Sales; Reasons and Sipes.

Halls                     203 201 1 – 9 11 2

Ooltewah             000 400 0 – 4 8 7

Blair and Gould; Patterson and Sales.

(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)

Ooltewah leadoff batter Addy Keylon awaits a pitch by Dyer County's Payton Reasons in the Class 3A state softball tournament. Dyer County scored the winning run in the seventh inning and defeated the Lady Owls, 3-2.
Ooltewah leadoff batter Addy Keylon awaits a pitch by Dyer County's Payton Reasons in the Class 3A state softball tournament. Dyer County scored the winning run in the seventh inning and defeated the Lady Owls, 3-2.
photo by Dennis Norwood
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