For both the Red Bank baseball team and the Soddy Daisy softball team, speed on the basepaths from key senior leaders has sparked success on the diamond this spring that includes being TSSAA District 6-3A champions in those sports.
After flying around the field while helping the Lady Trojans win the inaugural Hamilton County girls’ flag football championship in December, Skylar Gooden has helped Soddy Daisy win its fourth consecutive district title in softball.
Gooden showed how staying aware and being fast both play a part in stealing bases during a game against Hixson in the district tournament. She read a slow throw back from the catcher to the circle, then took off for home without even a toss to the plate as the pitcher struggled to get the ball out of her glove.
Gooden’s 54 stolen bases this season — including eight in a win over Bledsoe County — are No. 1 among preps softball players in Tennessee and tied for 12th in the nation among teams that submit their statistics to MaxPreps.com.
“Speed kills in softball, because if you can steal bases, it manufactures runs faster,” said Gooden, who has not only set the Lady Trojans’ single-season record for stolen bases but broke the program’s all-time record with the 151st of prep career in Tuesday’s 10-0 thumping of Hixson to win the 6-3A championship. “If you are fast and smart enough, you can turn a base hit into even more when you get on the basepaths.