Get ahead early. Throw strikes. Play errorless defense.

Check, check and close enough.

Host Ooltewah followed the blueprint it laid out for Saturday’s TSSAA Class AAA state softball sectional and, unlike this time last year, the Lady Owls will continue to the state tournament after a 3-0 victory over Lawrence County.

“Last year we were upset we didn’t get to go,” junior first baseman Bri Shoemake said. “We’re not going to be intimidated by anybody. It’s the best of the best. Everybody’s going to be good, but they’re going to think that about us, too.”

Ooltewah (42-3-1), ranked No. 18 nationally in StudentSportsSoftball.com’s FAB 50 and No. 21 in USA Today’s NFCA Super 25, plays its state-tournament opener Tuesday against Houston (30-10) at Murfreesboro’s Starplex No. 1 field at 6 p.m. EDT.

“I’m really excited,” junior shortstop Kristin Whitmire said. “My freshman year we went to state, but we haven’t been since. I’m looking forward to playing teams we haven’t seen, or played in a while. We’re ready to get out there.”

Other Chattanooga-area schools playing state openers Tuesday include 2007 Division II champion GPS (26-4-1) against Briarcrest (21-5) at Starplex No. 3, also at 6, and Whitwell (24-8) against two-time defending Class A champion Trinity Christian (40-6) in a game scheduled to start at about 8 at Starplex No. 4.

Soddy-Daisy (26-13-1) faces Bolton (28-12) on Wednesday at Starplex No. 1 at 11 a.m. The Lady Trojans have won the last two Class AAA titles.

Ooltewah coach Norma Nelson hoped to provide an early run for senior pitcher Holly Thomas by having No. 5 batter Shoemake sacrifice after Kaitlin Neil led off the bottom of the second inning with a single. Sara Kelley made the strategy work when she got a two-out single to drop in front of left fielder Amelia Ellis.

“You’ve got to score first,” Shoemake said. “Defensively we’re always going to get behind Holly.”

Of the three hits Thomas allowed, two were in the fourth inning with the Lady Owls leading 2-0. Their only error, an errant pickoff throw, was that inning, too, but cost them nothing more than the advancement of the Lady Wildcats’ only runner to reach scoring position from second base to third.

Thomas also had two strikeouts that inning and finished with 11. She did not issue a walk.

“When Holly gets a run up, she can really be tough,” Nelson said. “I thought she threw the ball well. We talked very little, as far as game plan. We pretty much just didn’t want to put people on base with errors, walks or whatever.”

Whitmire’s mighty swing in the third had provided the additional run. She lined a pitch toward left-center field that never descended until it cleared the top of the fence.

“I didn’t think it was going to go,” Nelson said. “That was just a rocket right there.”

Shoemake had an infield single and a double in her other at-bats. She stole third in the bottom of the fourth and scored the final run on an infield hit by Kelley.