WHITWELL, Tenn. – Rebecca Castle’s bold investment is beginning to pay off.
The Whitwell High School softball coach loaded up her team’s regular-season schedule with a rugged group of opponents that included Baylor, Chattanooga Christian, Soddy-Daisy and North Jackson, Alabama – all larger schools who are also perennial state tournament contenders.
But, after a few growing pains, that level of competition helped prepare the Lady Tigers for an impressive postseason run. On the heels of winning their fifth straight district tournament title last week, Whitwell needed just six innings to polish off Lookout Valley 12-2 in Monday’s Region 3-A semifinals.
The Lady Tigers, who have advanced to the state tournament three of the previous four seasons, will now travel to Sale Creek in Wednesday’s region championship game, where the winner will earn the right to host in Friday’s sub-state round.
“I don’t care one bit what our regular season record was,” said Castle, whose team improved to 16-15 overall. “I wanted to make sure our girls had seen everything they would need for the postseason. It’s been fun to watch them grow and turn the corner. They’ve got a lot of grit and have finally started to gel.”
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Whitwell vs. Lookout Valley on May 16, 2022
After spotting Lookout Valley a 1-0 lead, Whitwell responded in the home half of the first with two runs, including an RBI single by Ava Layne, to claim the lead for good. The Lady Tigers added three more runs in the second and put the game away with a five-run fourth.
Addison Beason went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs for the Lady Tigers, while Ella Harvey had a pair of two-run doubles and Karleigh Dempsey and Mallory O’Neal each added RBI doubles. Maria Basham, one of only two Lady Tigers seniors, earned the pitching win by allowing just four hits and striking out seven.
“The schedule we played this season helped us tremendously,” said Basham, who also had a triple at the plate. “It made us a lot better and we are definitely a different team than we were just a few weeks ago.”
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis