EVENSVILLE, Tenn. — Walker Valley senior A.J. Chancey had no intentions of creating bulletin-board material with a recent tweet.
She simply stated her opinion online: “We’ve never been in a better position to go past region, and I’m so freaking ready to kick (tail) Monday night.”
Rhea County printed the post and taped it to a dugout wall prior to the teams’ Region 3-AAA softball semifinal game.
Chancey now appears prophetic.
Walker Valley cruised to a 7-0 victory and advanced to the region championship game Wednesday at 7 at Ooltewah. The Lady Eagles finished their season with a 24-10 record.
“I really felt that way,” said Chancey, who reached base three times. “It’s really interesting that they put it up in their dugout. I didn’t want to start any smack-talk.”
The Lady Mustangs (25-9) broke a three-year streak of losing in region semifinals. They lost at Coffee County during Chancey’s freshman and sophomore years and at Cookeville last season.
“To break the cycle feels good,” Chancey said. “I really feel this is our year to do something big.”
Pitcher Alicia Raymond, who earned the victory, also endured those early exits from the playoffs.
“This is something that has been evading us for so long,” Walker Valley coach Lauren Limburg said. “I know how bad they wanted it, and they did what it takes to win tonight.”
The Mustangs also benefited from a poor defensive performance from the Lady Eagles. Rhea County made nine errors — three by UTC commitment Amy Lewis, who was the District 6-AAA defensive player of the year.
Two errors in the fifth inning allowed all nine Lady Mustangs in the lineup to bat and for Walker Valley to score five runs. Mackenzie Elrod delivered the gut-punch by driving in two with a double to the center-field fence.
“We fell apart,” Rhea County coach Leah Price said. “I don’t know if we were too tight. We had played really well up until tonight.”
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.