Soddy-Daisy softball coach Clifford Kirk has a problem on his hand, literally. The Lady Trojans’ leader since 1990 wears a huge ring on his right ring finger that symbolizes state-championship years.
He’s going to have to get it redone.
Soddy-Daisy capped a dream season Friday at Starplex No. 1 when it defeated Beech 8-5 in the TSSAA Class AAA state-championship game.
The championship is the seventh for Soddy-Daisy, which finished the year 52-2. It was Kirk’s ninth title overall.
When asked if this may have been his best team, Kirk said: “If the team was picked player by player, probably not. As far as a total team, it could very well be. Everybody did what they were supposed to do. I’ve got players on the bench that could play a lot of places.”
One of his reserves played a key role in the Lady Trojans’ final two victories. They were over nationally ranked teams, although No. 7 Soddy-Daisy’s ranking in the most recent ESPN Rise FAB 50 is higher than Beech’s No. 20 and Riverdale’s No. 24.
Sophomore sensation Kelsey Nunley had been Kirk’s pitching ace during the season, but she cut her middle finger on her pitching hand Wednesday and could not pitch from Thursday on. The Lady Trojans’ hopes then fell on freshman Tori Denayer (21-1).
“We had thrown her some all year long, and that turned out to be a good thing,” Kirk said. “It helped us out here in the end.”
The Lady Buccaneers rocked the right-hander for five hits and four runs in the fourth inning, but she limited them to one infield hit and no runs the rest of the way.
“I was kind of nervous that inning, but I knew I could pull it out,” Denayer said. “I feel like a big part of this team now.”
Relegated to watching from the dugout, Nunley had to release her energy in the form of pregame high-fives and chest bumps.
“It seemed like all the pressure was on her after I got hurt,” Nunley said of Denayer. “She did a fantastic job. I can’t imagine what the feeling must be like out there like that with the pressure on.”
Fittingly the final out nestled into junior shortstop Alex Everett’s glove. She went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs and was chosen the championship game’s most valuable player. Freshman Cassidy Hackney also drove in four runs with a double and a sacrifice fly.
Brooke Ward led off the game with a double and also walked, reached on an error and scored three runs. She is among the outgoing seniors with Brandi Lasley, Andie Johnson and Taylor Wilson.
“This bunch of seniors has meant a great deal. They had a ring before this one, but they got it sitting on the bench over there in the dugout,” Kirk said of the 2007 title. “They went out of their way to give us this opportunity, so we could win.”
