Skip to main content
Thursday, October 29, 2026Oct 29
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

This story is free to read.

Baylor, CCS advance to Division II softball title games

Dyer County's Jodi Cranford makes it back to second base under the tag of Ooltewah's Jaycee Holt during the TSSAA Class AAA softball state tournament Wednesday in Murfreesboro.
Dyer County's Jodi Cranford makes it back to second base under the tag of Ooltewah's Jaycee Holt during the TSSAA Class AAA softball state tournament Wednesday in Murfreesboro. Dyer County's Jodi Cranford makes it back to second base under the tag of Ooltewah's Jaycee Holt during the TSSAA Class AAA softball state tournament Wednesday in Murfreesboro.

By Stephen Hargis 4 min read

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – It was certainly worth the wait.

Two Chattanooga softball teams needed clutch hits in their final at-bats Wednesday to advance to state championship series. One was expected; the other is rapidly becoming the feel-good story of the entire tournament, regardless of classification.

In the 90-plus-degree heat of early afternoon, Baylor pushed a run across in the bottom of the seventh to edge Chattanooga rival GPS 4-3 and earn the right to play for its fifth consecutive Division II-AA state title. In the evening, Chattanooga Christian School came off the deck to score two runs in the home half of the seventh to beat The King’s Academy 7-6.

Just four years after reviving its program, CCS plays Thursday for a DII-A championship.

“Ever since we started the program back, this was our goal,” said Lady Chargers coach Lisa Gray, whose husband Thomas had a memorable day of his own, helping coach Gordon Lee’s baseball team to its second straight Georgia Class A title. “These kids just were not going to lose. They kept fighting back and refused to quit. I’m so proud of them.”