BENTON, Tenn. - Central played Polk County in softball Tuesday for the first time since the teams met in a Region 3-AA high school semifinal last year. The rematch turned out to be a mismatch.
Unlike the game in May when Central's Lady Purple Pounders rallied from a one-run deficit in the second half of the game to win by three, they were dominant Tuesday at Polk County and won 10-0 in five innings.
This time it was Central taking an early 1-0 lead - or, more precisely, being given it. In the first inning Brook Womack reached on a two-out throwing error, stole second and scored on another error.
Womack added a two-run homer in the third and followed Raney Jackson's double in the fifth with a run-scoring single that made the lead six.
With Womack on second after advancing on the throw home, catcher and cleanup batter Hannah Powell dropped a bunt. She looked on her way to reaching first safely when the throw sailed into the right-field corner and both runners came around to score.
"We just try to be aggressive and put pressure on people, only to take advantage of things," Central coach LeeAnne Shurette said. "We have some really smart baserunners. I don't have to coach them as much as they know what they can do."
The inning before, with Ciera Belcher aboard on a one-out infield hit, Jade Stoker put down a sacrifice bunt that barely ended up in fair territory in front of the plate. She also went home to home when the throw wound up way down the right-field line.
"They laid down two bunts and their hitters scored off each one of them," Polk coach Johnny Hayes said. "We had poor execution on defense, and they hit well. Seven of these girls started last year. They didn't show up ready to play today."
Central (6-4), which finished ninth among 60-plus teams over the weekend in Hendersonville's Commando Classic, had nine hits against Polk County (4-4) - all from the third inning on.
"I was proud of the way we made adjustments with our bats," Shurette said.
Britney Sylvester came off the bench and contributed a two-run single for the Lady Pounders, who played errorless defense. The only hit allowed by winning pitcher Shelby Willard was Jordan Triplett's single with one out in the last inning. The right-hander hit one batter, walked one and struck out 10.