The Sale Creek Lady Panther softball team got the team they were looking for Wednesday afternoon, but the result wasn’t.
It was a rematch with the Summertown Lady Eagles from last year’s championship game in the Class A state softball final in Wednesday afternoon’s Class A winner’s bracket final.
The Lady Eagles won again, but this latest game wasn’t nearly as close as the two they played a year ago.
Scoring three runs in each of the first two innings before wrapping up the win with a four-run fourth, the Lady Eagles rolled to an easy 10-0 victory in five innings.
With the win, Summertown improves to 36-5-1 and will face Columbia Academy in the winner’s bracket final. Columbia Academy blanked Whitwell by a 7-0 final in Wednesday’s other winners’ bracket semifinal following the Sale Creek loss.
The Lady Panthers have run-ruled more than their share of teams, including Cosby in the Sectional at Sale Creek last Saturday night. But the tables got turned here at the StarPlex Field No. Four as the Lady Panthers fell to 30-9.
“We just have to play better tomorrow,” said Sale Creek coach Clifford Kirk in a matter of fact way following Wednesday’s loss.
“Summertown had a very good team last year when they beat us for the championship and I think they proved they’re capable of winning it all again.
“Right now, we’re down. We didn’t play as well as we’re capable, but it seems like we did this last year. We can still do it, but our job just got a little bit harder,” Kirk nodded.
Senior Macie Stanfield was the losing pitcher after allowing six runs on six hits. She was replaced by Madison Stott with one out in the second after the Lady Eagles had gotten three hits and two walks after an out to start the inning.
Anisten Burleson and Caitlyn Gallaher had back-to-back RBI-singles in the first while Brooklyn Gabel’s double drove in the third run.
Kaley Campbell got an easy RBI with a bases-loaded walk in the second before Burleson drove in two more with another single.
Campbell had a run-scoring double in the fourth for a 7-0 lead before the next run scored on a Sale Creek error. Gabel’s two-run homer with two outs clinched the win for the Lady Eagles.
Sale Creek had their best opportunity in the top of first when Leah Campbell beat out an infield single, Shelby Sullivan did the same an out later before Hannah Hall was safe on a fielder’s choice to load the bases.
Allison Smith popped to third to end that threat and Sale Creek never came close to scoring again. Turns out those two infield hits were the only two hits winning pitcher Elizabeth Woods allowed.
Sullivan walked to lead off the fourth, but she was Sale Creek’s only other base runner as Woods finished with four strikeouts.
Summertown coach Greg Burleson remembered from last year just how good Sale Creek was. He impressed on his team just how important it was for them to get an early lead.
They took his suggestion to heart.
“We know how good Sale Creek is and wanted to get off to a good start,” the winning coach said later.
“I’m just glad we won. We worked out of a pretty good jam in the first, but things seemed to go well after that,” he concluded.
Summertown finished with 10 hits, including three from Jenna Brazier. Burleson had two hits, scored twice and drove in three while Gabel had the double and homer to finish with three RBIs as well.
SALE CREEK 000 00 – 0 2 2
SUMMERTOWN 330 4x – 10 10 0
Stanfield, Stott (2) and Skiles; Woods and Gallaher.
(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)