While Mother Nature washed away a good portion of Wednesday’s softball action at the TSSAA Spring Fling, Boyd Buchanan refused to be swept away from the state title hunt.
The Lady Buccaneers kept their Division II-A championship dreams alive as they scored five runs in the top of the fifth inning to break through and knock out University School of Jackson, 7-4, in an elimination game that was moved from McKnight Park in Murfreesboro to Cedar Stone Park in Smyrna.
Senior leadoff hitter KK Butler began the decisive inning with a double, while sophomore Keke Jordan followed with a triple to bring in a run. Two batters later, junior Ella Meade delivered one of her three hits of the day with a two-run single up the middle to make the lead 5-1. Sydney Baker added an RBI single, while Berkley Roddy also drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
Meade has been a force over the first two days of the Spring Fling, where she is 5-for-6 with three RBIs and three runs scored for the Lady Bucs.
“Ella is such a vocal leader for us and is fierce at the plate,” Boyd Buchanan coach Sarah Warren-Bowles said. “She thrives in big moments and is consistent and very coachable. She listens to our hitting approaches and executes them to the best of her ability. She is such a strong force for us.”
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Boyd Buchanan (33-6) will rematch with Friendship Christian (30-9) at noon Eastern on Thursday at Cedar Stone Park, with the winner advancing to the title round against Tipton-Rosemark (35-9) at 5 p.m. at Middle Tennessee State University. Tipton-Rosemark has yet to lose in the double-elimination bracket and would have two chances to win the title; if necessary, a second game would be played at 2:20 p.m. Friday at MTSU.
Friendship Christian handed Boyd Buchanan a 13-3 loss in five innings Tuesday, when the Lady Commanders broke a close game open in the fifth with an eight-run inning.
Boyd Buchanan eighth grader Malloree Harr picked up the win in the pitching circle Wednesday with a complete game, giving up 11 hits but allowing just two earned runs. Harr stranded the bases loaded to end the victory, forcing a popup to Meade at second base.
“We did a great job in a day filled with adversity, with quick game times being announced and weather delay changes. Even a change of parks,” Bowles said. “The ladies did a great job refocusing, getting off the bus, and playing hard. It was a tough three outs at the end against a strong USJ team in the pouring rain, and we closed the door.”
(READ MORE: Boyd Buchanan softball reaches Spring Fling for first time since 2005)
Meanwhile, despite their own venue change from McKnight Park to Cedar Stone Park, a trio of Chattanooga teams still in contention for the Division II-AA title were never able to get their games underway.
TSSAA officials canceled the rest of the day’s play at Cedar Stone at 7:30 p.m. Central on Wednesday as warmups were underway for a winners-bracket showdown between reigning state champion Chattanooga Christian School (27-8-1) and eight-time winner GPS (25-6), as well as an elimination game between 17-time champ Baylor (22-10-2) and Knoxville Catholic (8-21), which has an all-time mark of 0-3 in state tourney play.
CCS and GPS will face off at 10 a.m. Eastern on Thursday at Cedar Stone with a trip to the title round on the line, while the loser will face the winner of Baylor and Knoxville Catholic in an elimination game at noon to follow.
The DII-AA title matchup is set for 11 a.m. Eastern on Friday at MTSU. If necessary, a second game would be played at 5 p.m. that day.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.