MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Sale Creek was waxing philosophical Thursday after his Lady Panthers were eliminated from the Class 1A state softball tournament with a 3-1 loss to Cascade.
“It’s a strange thing because I’ve gone over there with teams from Soddy-Daisy that I thought were the best in the tournament and got beat,” Kirk said. “I’ve gone over there with teams I didn’t think were that good and won it all. It’s a strange thing.”
The Lady Panthers arrived in Murfreesboro sporting a 29-8 record and opened with a 7-6 win against Gibson County. They were drubbed by Summertown, 10-0, and then packed their bags for home after losing to Cascade.
“I believe the two teams that beat us will probably play for the championship,” Kirk said.
Cascade put the Lady Panthers in an early hole with two first-inning runs. Bailey Ledbetter reached on a fielder’s choice and Kailey Snell scored. Brooke Sudduth came home when Lani Jones grounded out.
The Lady Champions pushed the margin to 3-0 when Snell, who singled, came home on the Lady Panthers’ only error in the fifth inning.
Sale Creek averted a shutout on Kristen Sharp’s home in the bottom of the fifth.
Shelby Sullivan went 2 for 3 for Sale Creek, which finished 30-10.
“It was disappointing this year,” Kirk said. “I expected we would play a lot better. It just didn’t happen. We were injured early and once everyone got back we started playing better but we didn’t play well at state.”
Linescore
Cascade 200 010 0 – 3 8 0
Sale Creek 000 010 0 – 1 6 1
Sudduth and McAnally; Stott, Stanfield (6) and Baskette-Skiles.