Chattanooga Christian made three errors in the top of the first inning – two on the same play – in Tuesday’s first game in its TSSAA Division II-A state quarterfinal softball best-of-three series. And it couldn’t have played much better defensively after that.
The Lady Chargers not only played errorlessly the rest of the way, they also made some standout plays behind right-hander Madison Hollis, who worked all 14 innings on the night in their 5-3 and 8-3 victories over Donelson Christian Academy. As result, CCS is on its way to next week’s state tournament.
“I’m just so proud of them,” said CCS coach Lisa Gray, who was overcome with emotion. “They’ve been through so much. They’ve fought all year and overcome so much adversity.”
The Lady Chargers’ errors combined with two Lady Wildcats hits led to three first-inning runs. But Hollis held them right there the rest of the way and was the beneficiary of a five-run third inning in which she contributed an RBI double. Rachel Kay had the big blow with a two-run double.
“I think we just had to settle down a little bit,” Gray said. “The girls have been waiting for this since we won last week.”