Silverdale Baptist Academy defeated Chattanooga Christian 8-5 at CCS in Saturday's winners-bracket final of the Division II-A East District 2 tournament. But that was after having beaten the Lady Chargers by a combined 17-0 in 12 innings in the two regular-season meetings.
Maddie Tankersley had pitched all those innings and had given up three hits and two walks and struck out 22. She again was the winning pitcher but allowed 10 hits and three walks while striking out seven.
"I had seen them play outside of playing us," SBA coach Tim Couch said. "That's a good team. They can hit the ball, but I didn't think Maddie had her good stuff today."
Silverdale (21-5) has a spot in Tuesday's final. The losers-bracket final between CCS (15-11) and Boyd-Buchanan, which beat Grace Academy 16-6 on Saturday, is set for Monday. Both are scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. A second championship game would be Tuesday at 7, if necessary.
The Lady Seahawks gave Tankersley an early lead with three first-inning runs, but single runs in the second, third and fourth enabled CCS to tie it. The pivotal half inning proved to be Silverdale's fifth, and it included controversy.
With the bases loaded and one out, Kenzie Manning grounded to third baseman Lauren Kay, who threw home to catcher Madison Blevins. Baserunner Kaili Phillips slid in and was called safe. Couch said on-deck batter Tankersley later told him she thought Blevins' foot came off the plate before she caught the ball.
Tankersley then lined a shot down the baseline that glanced off the end of Kay's glove, resulting in a two-run double. CCS questioned whether the ball was fair or foul, adding that if fair there should've been an interference call on the baserunner. Couch said he thought his runner did a good job by staying in foul territory.
"It's a game," CCS coach Lisa Gray said. "Sometimes calls go your way; sometimes they don't. We still have to remember we control our own destiny."
Silverdale went on to have a five-run rally.
"We needed that inning," Couch said. "It could've happened the other way. Our girls fought. I'm proud of them. We're not the most skilled team, but we play hard."
The Lady Chargers' Mary Vandergriff hit a two-run homer in the sixth. Then the seventh started with Savannah Ricketts lining a single to center followed by Rachel Kay drawing a walk. That brought the tying run to bat, but Tankersley retired the next three.
"We had a bunch of different goals coming into today," Gray said. "Competing and working hard were obviously at the top of the list. I do feel like we had that. I think the one thing I'm proud of most is no matter what has happened, they're focused on right now. Really the kids are so hungry right now - every pitch, every game. It doesn't matter who we play."
Tankersley went 2-for-3 and had three RBIs for Silverdale. Skylar Sheridan was 2-for-2, both doubles, drove in a run and scored twice. She also received two of the five intentional walks to Lady Seahawks with Phillips, who scored twice, taking the others. Savannah Turner was 2-for-4 with an RBI double for SBA.
Lauren Kay went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and a double and scored three times for CCS. Ricketts, who had an RBI, and Madison Vandergriff were each 2-for-3 with Vandergriff doubling and scoring a run. She also made a diving backhand stop at second base and threw out the runner from a sitting position for the first out in the second inning. Mary Vandergriff was 2-for-4.
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter @KelleySmiddie.