MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Still needing just one win to claim the program's first state championship, Chattanooga Christian School's softball team will need a short memory going into Friday's winner-take-all game against The King's Academy.
One day after rallying to beat The King's and advance into the championship series, CCS lost 17-2 to the Lady Lions on Thursday evening, forcing another game to determine the Division II-A state champion.
The King's took command with a 13-run first inning, then added four runs in the fourth for a five-inning win. Lauren Kay provided the only highlight for the Lady Chargers with a two-run home run in the second.
Chattanooga Christian School shortstop Mary Vandergriff gathers in a ground ball on Thursday during the team's 17-2 loss to The King's Academy in the TSSAA Division II-A softball championship series.The three Chattanooga-area Division I softball teams that entered Thursday with a chance to advance wound up being eliminated short of a title game.
Cascade eliminated both Sale Creek, 3-1, and Whitwell, 2-0, in Class A, while Sequatchie County won its first game of the day, 7-1 over Jackson South Side, but fell 3-0 to Creek Wood and bowed out of the AA bracket. The Lady Indians scored three runs in the third inning and three in the sixth against South Side, highlighted by Megan Hall's home run and three RBIs.
Whitwell also won its first game of the day, 7-1 over Unaka, before falling one win short of reaching the title round. Maddie Jordan, Layla McEwen, Anna Yell, Delanie Merciers and Kynlie Higdon each had two hits for the Lady Tigers in the win, with Higdon driving in three runs and McEwen plating two.
Cascade pitcher Brooke Sudduth allowed just three Whitwell hits in leading her team into Friday's championship game.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.