If the Central Lady Pounders were going to go down Saturday in the Class A softball sectional, coach LeeAnne Shurett was going make sure they didn’t go down passively.
Shurett twice went the aggressive route with runners in scoring position and each time it paid off as Central edged visiting Dekalb County, 3-1, to earn the program’s first trip to the Spring Fling since 1987. The Pounders (27-10) will open play Tuesday in Murfreesboro.
“I was a little conservative Monday night, and that made it a lot closer game,” Shurett said of her team’s right 2-1 win at Meigs County. “Today, I wanted them to have to throw us out, and if they did, that’s OK. Fortunately, they didn’t.”
The first test came in the bottom of the first inning when Sarah Walker walked, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on Shelby Willard’s single up the middle. Walker had barely reached third when Dekalb centerfielder Alex Meadows came up throwing. The ball beat Walker to the plate, but the throw was too high and Central took a 1-0 lead.
“It was nice getting that run; I don’t like it when it’s zero-to-zero,” said Willard, who did her usual stellar job in the circle with a three-hit, six-strikeout effort. “I was able to settle down and let our defense work.”
Though Willard didn’t have her usual double-digit strikeout game, she allowed very few hard-hit balls, and when the Tigerettes (39-10) did make contact, third baseman Jade Stoker and shortstop Walker made several strong plays. Four times Stoker got tough forceouts at second base with a runner on to keep Dekalb out of scoring position.
“I guess I was just in the zone the whole game,” said Stoker, who added two of Central’s six hits. “Shelby pitched a great game, too, and we had our bats going.”
Those bats, held in check for the most part by Dekalb pitcher Morgan Self, broke through with two insurance runs in the fifth. Walker’s two-out single to left scored Sammie Barley, who took an aggressive turn at third base at Shurett’s urging and slid safely at home when the throw eluded the Dekalb catcher. Hannah Powell followed with an RBI single to right, scoring Walker and giving Willard the cushion she needed.
Dekalb did score a run in the sixth on a single by Jaylen Gary, wild pitch and passed ball, but Willard sat down the final five batters to secure the trip to Murfreesboro.
“The key for us is how the girls always work hard and keep focused on what our goal is,” said Shurett, who was already looking ahead. “Even when they’re tired and beat up, they always come out here and work hard. Next week we just have to keep doing what we do — that’s our motto — and as long as we do, we’ll be all right.”