Top-seeded Chattanooga State and fifth-seeded Cleveland State are both in the final three of the TCCAA/NJCAA Region VII softball tournament that ends today at Chattanooga State, and they play each other at noon with at least second place on the line.
The winner will then get a chance to beat No. 2 seed Walters State twice for the championship and a berth in the national tournament May 16-19 in St. George, Utah.
Walters defeated Cleveland's Lady Cougars 7-4 in the winners-bracket final Tuesday, and Chattanooga State won twice in the losers bracket - 8-0 over the ninth-seeded Roane State team that stunned the 12th-ranked Lady Tigers the day before and 3-1 over Dyersburg State in the nightcap.
Walters State's nationally No. 1-ranked baseball Senators also beat Cleveland State in a winners-bracket matchup Tuesday, 11-6. Chattanooga State lost 10-8 to Volunteer State in the late game, despite a home run by Gavin Harmon.
Cleveland's Cougars will face Motlow State at 10 a.m. today in a losers-bracket game, followed at 1 p.m. by Chatt State against Dyersburg State, a 6-2 survivor against Jackson State. Walters (52-6) faces Vol State (30-16) in the winners-bracket final at 4:30. The baseball tournament will end Thursday or Friday.
No. 2 seed Motlow State, which lost 10-8 to Chatt State's Tigers in Monday's final game, staved off elimination Tuesday afternoon by wiping out a seven-run deficit in a 10-9 walk-off win over Columbia State. Down 8-1 in the middle of the fifth inning, the Bucks got an unearned run in the bottom half and took advantage of two errors for a four-unearned-run sixth featuring Nathan Sanders' three-run homer.
After Columbia's Chargers added an unearned run in the top of the ninth for a 9-6 lead, the Bucks loaded the bases with two walks sandwiched around a hit batsman, and Colin Smith hit a two-run single with one out and Johnny Mangini smashed a two-out two-run double for the win.
For Cleveland State (37-18) against Walters, Noah Hill was 3-for-4 with two RBIs, Logan Peterson was 2-for-5 with three RBIs and Brandon Mason, Cameron Payne and Trey Vanderpool each was 2-for-4 - with Mason scoring twice. For the Senators, Hunter Gilliland was 1-for-2 with a three-run homer and Austin Henry was 2-for-3 with two doubles, two runs and an RBI. Tyler Gentry walked three times and scored three runs.
Henry's RBI double and Gilliland's homer came in a six-run fourth inning.
In the Cleveland-Walters softball matchup, Grayson Brown hit a two-run homer and Macy Bryant also had two RBIs with a sacrifice fly and a double for the Lady Cougars (25-21). Emily Yell was 2-for-2 and Rachel Pierce scored twice.
Paige Calloway was 3-for-5 with a homer and five RBIs for the Lady Senators (40-11), who put together two three-run innings, and pitcher Casey Gilbert had a double with an RBI single. Chealsey Pridgen was 1-for-2 with two walks and three runs scored. They had two three-run innings.
After pitching Chattanooga State's losers-bracket win Monday night, Kaleigh Wynne pitched both Lady Tigers victories Tuesday: a five-inning three-hitter with nine strikeouts against Roane and a seven-inning six-hitter with 10 strikeouts against Dyersburg. She also was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored against Roane and walked three times, one bringing in a run, in the late game, when Alyssia Bowen was 2-for-3 with an RBI double and a run and Madison Tidmore had an RBI single.
Kayla Woody was 2-for-2 witih two RBIs and a run and Katie Cheeseman scored two runs and batted one in against Roane. Chattanooga State scored two runs in the first inning and five in the second in that revenge victory.
Abby Schilling was 2-for-2 for Roane State.
Taylor Travis was 2-for-3 with two doubles and the run for Dyersburg in its elimination loss. The West Tennessee team earlier eliminated third seed Volunteer State, 12-4, as Madalyn Mosier had a three-run double and a single, Hailee Mullins and Kaylee Luckett each homered and drove in two runs and Madison Konig was 2-for-3 and matched Emily Hooper with two runs scored. Mullins was 3-for-4 and Victoria Haugsness was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run.
Ali King was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Hannah Marlar also had two RBIs for Vol State. Emma Byford was 2-for-2 and scored a run.