Ooltewah High School softball coach Norma Nelson said when Holly Thomas is on her game, the rest of the Lady Owls manage to fall in line behind.
Where Thomas and her teammates went this weekend was straight to the top of the Gold Division in the 18th Lady Trojan Invitational hosted by Soddy-Daisy at Soddy Lake Kids’ Park. Ooltewah capped a perfect weekend by defeating Goodpasture 1-0 in Saturday’s championship game.
Thomas finished off her standout weekend performance by pitching a two-hitter against the Lady Cougars, and she was 2-for-3 and singled in the run in the third inning. The Lady Owls advanced to the final in similar fashion — Thomas pitching a shutout against Siegel in a semifinal and doubling in the only run.
Her exploits in Friday’s pool play included 17 strikeouts in a six-inning game. She homered twice in an another.
“She did pretty much everything,” Nelson said. “She hit well. She pitched well. Holly will compete. She hates to lose. She’s going to give it all she’s got. She’ll put you in position to win.”
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Staff Photo by Patrick Smith -- Goodpasture’s Tiffany Hibbs tries to convince the umpire that Ooltewah’s Kristin Whitmire was out after she slid safely into home during Saturday’s Lady Trojan Classic championship game.
Goodpasture was in position to tie or take the lead in the top of the seventh inning when Thomas ended the game by striking out No. 3 batter Kelsey Cartwright with runners on first and second. Tiffany Hibbs started the inning with an infield hit and Thomas gave up a fifth walk before working out of it.
“Walks are never good,” Thomas said. “It’s the beginning of the season and there’s some soreness in my arm after I pitch. I still feel stiff.”
Along with the walks, Thomas hit a batter and one reached on an error. Goodpasture advanced two runners as far as third base and three to second.
Thomas doesn’t mind seeing the ball put in play. She said she has confidence in the defense behind her.
“When Holly throws, you don’t necessarily need a lot of defense,” Nelson said.
Kristin Whitmire walked and scored the run. A pop-fly bunt single over the heads of charging infielders preceded Thomas’s hit to right field.
Ooltewah (8-0) also got two pitching victories in the tournament from Stephanie Braz. The Lady Owls’ first win in single-elimination play was 17-0 over Whitwell.
“Those last two games show we can win the 1-0 games,” Nelson said. “It’s makes it a whole lot easier on the coach when we get out big, but they showed they can score one and go out and play and make it hold up.”
Along with Ooltewah and Baylor, which Goodpasture eliminated in a semifinal, GPS and Soddy-Daisy were the other teams that entered single-elimination play after going unbeaten in pool play. Siegel defeated GPS 3-0 in a first-round game. Rhea County’s 1-0 victory over Soddy-Daisy marked the first time the Lady Golden Eagles have beaten the Lady Trojans.
Kelley Smiddie is a sports writer who has worked at the Times Free Press for 12 years. He covers high school sports and softball. Kelley’s hometown is Chattanooga, and he graduated from Brainerd High School and graduated Chattanooga State and UTC. Contact Kelley at 423-757-6653 or ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com.
