The Upperman Lady Bees captured the District 8/AA tournament championship with an 8-6 win over Macon County on Thursday night in Watertown.
The two top teams in the district battled three times in just over 24 hours, with the Lady Bees winning two out of three to win the district title.
“Upperman softball wouldn’t have it any other way. Just battling through adversity for 14 innings,” said UHS head coach Dustin Williams. “I’m so proud of our team. We just never gave up.”
Upperman appeared poised to win the title early in the day, as they took a 3-2 lead into the seventh inning of the first game. Cadence Carter then hit a two-run home run to center to give the Tigerettes a 4-3 lead. The MCHS defense then turned a double-play in the bottom half to help secure the narrow victory and force a winner-take-all championship game.
The two offenses, who are normally high-powered, were neutralized early in the second game as Ellie Coley and Leah McElhaney pitched their way through three scoreless innings. The Lady Bees then struck in the fourth with an offensive explosion. Bailea Colson got the scoring started with an RBI single as nine Lady Bees reached a base and six recorded an RBI as they took an 8-0 lead.
The MCHS offense came to life in the sixth, capitalizing on three UHS errors to bring four runs across, but the Lady Bees recorded a double-play to get out of the inning with an 8-4 lead. Carter cut the deficit to two in the sixth with another two-RBI homer, but Reagan Hurst came in to pitch and slammed the door with a double-play and strikeout to secure the tournament championship.
Williams said his team’s ability to stay calm during adversity was critical.
“The only person who was being hyper-emotional was me,” said Williams. “In the sixth inning… I went out there to the circle and as soon as I got there everybody said ‘what’s up coach?’ It brought me back down. We regrouped and they know we’ve got to get 21 outs.”
McElhaney earned the win for the Lady Bees in the final game, allowing six runs, five earned, on 10 hits with four strikeouts and no walks. Hurst earned the save throwing one shutout inning with one strikeout.
“Leah McElhaney threw a gem of a game for us,” said Williams. “So proud of Leah and proud of Reagan finishing it off.”
The Lady Bees will host their semifinal matchup in the region tournament against Bledsoe County on Monday night. If they win, they will clinch a spot in the sectional round and face the winner of Macon County vs Sequatchie County in the region championship game.
“They’re going to enjoy it tonight and tomorrow,” said Williams. “We’ll come back in Sunday and go to work against a real good Bledsoe County team. There’s no bad teams left.”
Photos by Noah McKay:
