Class A Grace Academy can only hope this morning’s pool-play game against Class AAA Soddy-Daisy in the 20th Lady Trojan Invitational high school softball tournament turns out as well as David’s clash went against Goliath.
Like David, at least the Lady Golden Eagles have a trustworthy slinger. One of their problems, however, is that the Lady Trojans do, too.
Be that as it may, upstart Grace (5-0) will take aim at the host and longtime state power in one of the four pool-play games scheduled to get the tournament at Soddy Lake Kids’ Park under way at 9.
“We’re not crazy about 9 a.m. Most of my girls aren’t morning people,” Grace coach Tina Walker said. “But we do want to play the better teams. That’s the way you get better. We’re excited about it.”
In all, 42 pool-play games are slated for today, with the last round scheduled to start at 9 p.m. Single-elimination is set to begin Saturday morning at 9.
Teams finishing in the upper halves of their pools will play in the Gold bracket, and the others will compete in the Silver bracket. Finals are scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Walker plans to start her daughter, Lacye (4-0), in the pitching circle against Soddy-Daisy. She was 18-2 with an ERA of 0.38 last season but will be facing an offense that’s scored at a clip of more than a run per inning. The Lady Trojans have scored 106 runs in 13 games, and 11 of those have been less than seven innings.
“Lacye’s been pumped,” Walker said. “She knows how good they are.”
Soddy-Daisy coach Clifford Kirk knows how good the Lady Golden Eagles’ junior left-hander is, too. He plans to counter with sophomore right-hander Kelsey Nunley (7-0), who was 21-3 a year ago with an ERA of 0.52.
“Walker’s a good pitcher,” Kirk said. “She does a good job. Kelsey’s a good pitcher. I think it’s a game where you’ve got to look for some breaks. I feel like we’re a better hitting team than them, or at least we have been. That may not hold up this time. I think we have an advantage there, but their pitcher’s tough. At least she made it to the state tournament last year. We didn’t.”
Coach Walker said she has stressed to her players that although they’ve had recent success playing at their level, they have nothing to lose regardless of the outcome against Soddy-Daisy (12-1). She hopes that will allow them to relax and play like they’re capable of playing.
“Soddy-Daisy’s a tough team,” Walker said. “We know we’re going to have to work to our spots pitching, and our hitting and fielding is going to have to be strong. We’ve got to play small ball well. We can’t make mistakes.”
20th Lady Trojan Invitational
At Soddy Lake Kids’ Park
Today’s pool-play schedule
9 a.m.–Red Bank vs. Bloomdale, Ohio Elmwood; Soddy-Daisy vs. Grace Academy; GPS vs. Rhea County; Ooltewah vs. Sequatchie County; 10:30–William Blount vs. Columbia Central; Soddy-Daisy vs. Seymour; Midway vs. Polk County; Ezell-Harding vs. Marion County; Baylor vs. Bradley Central; noon–Maryville vs. Happy Valley; Central vs. Stone Memorial; Cleveland vs. Bledsoe County; Creek Wood vs. Morristown West; Brentwood High vs. Meigs County; 1:30–Red Bank vs. William Blount; Soddy-Daisy vs. Marion County; GPS vs. Midway; Ooltewah vs. Morristown West; Seymour vs. Sequatchie County; 3–Meigs County vs. Bradley Central; Baylor vs. Brentwood High; GPS vs. Polk County; Elmwood vs. Columbia; Grace Academy vs. Ezell-Harding; 4:30–Stone Memorial vs. Creek Wood; Morristown West vs. Central; Rhea County vs. Polk County; Cleveland vs. Maryville; Bledsoe County vs. Happy Valley; 6–Red Bank vs. Columbia; Soddy-Daisy vs. Ezell-Harding; Rhea County vs. Midway; Ooltewah vs. Seymour; William Blount vs. Elmwood; 7:30–Brentwood High vs. Bradley Central; Grace Academy vs. Marion County; Baylor vs. Meigs County; Maryville vs. Sequatchie County; 9–Central vs. Creek Wood; Morristown West vs. Stone Memorial; Cleveland vs. Happy Valley; Maryville vs. Bledsoe County.