By Michael Lindsay
The Cookeville Lady Cavaliers picked up their first District 7-4A softball victory of the season Thursday evening as they defeated Wilson Central, 8-3.
“We played better today than we did on Monday night,” said Cookeville head coach Jordan Webb. “We talked about going out there and playing a clean game.”
Cookeville (10-3, 1-2) was led at the plate by centerfielder Julie Martin, who went 3-4 with a triple, two runs scored, one RBI and a stolen base. Kadie Presley, Kylie Kleppin and Ella Dudney recorded two hits each for the Lady Cavs.
“The top and middle part of our order has been hitting well all year,” said Webb. “I’m happy where we’re at; a little more production out of the bottom of the order is going to come with a few more at-bats.”
Pitcher Madison Lancaster went the distance in the circle as she struck out 6 while allowing 6 hits and only 2 walks in the victory.
“She was more in the zone tonight and was in more of an attack mode,” said Webb. “Our defense made some really good plays, and that’s what we need to do. If we’re going to be successful against good teams, we have to pitch effectively and play good defense.”
Cookeville got on the board first in the bottom of the first inning as a Kyrklinn Moores sacrifice fly scored Martin to give the Lady Cavs a 1-0 lead.
Neither team found home in the second or third innings as Cookeville held a 1-0 advantage entering the fourth.
“Early on, that girl didn’t throw super hard,” said Webb. “We tend to struggle with softer pitching until we get adjusted. We hit a lot of dribblers pull side. We discussed throughout the innings to be patient and relax.”
Cookeville opened up offensively in the bottom of the fourth inning as they scored 5 runs in the frame.
Moores and Laylah Turner opened the frame with hits before a Dudney triple drove them home, giving Cookeville a 3-0 lead with no outs in the bottom of the fourth.
Cookeville tacked on three more runs with two outs as a Valentina Tegoni sacrifice fly scored Dudney before a triple from Martin and single by Presley scored one run each to give the Lady Cavaliers a 6-0 lead entering the fifth.
Wilson Central responded with two runs in the top of the fifth inning to cut their deficit to 4 at 6-2. Cookeville tacked on a run in the bottom of the fifth via a Moores grounder to score Kleppin, making the score 7-3 entering the sixth inning.
Each team scored one run each in the sixth inning before Lancaster shut the door in the top of the seventh to seal the Lady Cavaliers’ 8-3 victory.
Cookeville is scheduled to travel to Kingsport this weekend for the Eastman-Kingsport Softball Invitational.
“We’ve got two games Friday in Kingsport and at least two Saturday,” said Webb. “There’s not a secret; we just need to continue to play well.”
