Lady Trojans pounce on Ooltewah, 10-0

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog

On Thursday, Soddy-Daisy's Lady Trojans were able to put Tuesday's tough loss at Walker Valley behind them - way behind them.

When the Lady Mustangs rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning for a one-run victory over Soddy-Daisy, it left them alone in first place in the District 5-AAA high school softball standings. The Lady Trojans emphatically remained tied for second place Thursday by whipping Ooltewah 10-0 in six innings.

"I thought we played well all the way around," Soddy-Daisy coach Wes Skiles said. "Our energy level was up. We hit the ball hard all night; a lot of quality at-bats; a lot of barrels."

The offense for Soddy-Daisy (4-1, 2-1) was on display as early as the bottom of the second inning, a three-run at-bat that included a triple by Grayson Brown, a double by Hannah Smith and a two-run single by Abbey Walker.

"I felt good at 3," Skiles said. "I've got confidence in these girls. We've got a good hitting team, a good pitching team and a good defensive team."

Ooltewah pitcher Cameron Baltimore regrouped and held the Lady Trojans in check from there until the fifth, when they batted around and scored six times. Cameren Swafford had a two-run home run early in the outburst, and Walker added another two-RBI single.

"They adjust well," Skiles said of his batters. "That was all them."

Winning pitcher Shona Penney limited the Lady Owls (7-3, 3-2) to two hits. Two of her four walks came at the start of the fourth inning, but one of her six strikeouts and two popouts to third came next.

"When it was 3-0 we got a couple on and we were hoping to catch lightning in a bottle," Ooltewah coach Jon Massey said. "If we get a hold of one and tie it up, you never know."

Soddy-Daisy's Shana Ward, who was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored, ended the game with an RBI single in the sixth. Haley Reynolds was 3-for-4 for the Lady Trojans, and Savannah Moore was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

"We know they're the barometer, and East Hamilton and Walker Valley," Massey said. "We know they're good. We've just got to take it day by day and hope to be playing our best softball at the end of April and the first of May, and we'll see what happens."

Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him at twitter.com/KelleySmiddie.

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