By Michael Lindsay
The two-time Class 1A softball defending state champion Gordonsville Tigerettes (28-1) closed out the regular season in the win column Tuesday as they defeated Stone Memorial (14-4) at Crump Paris Park, 5-0.
“Hats off to Stone,” said Gordonsville head coach Jonathan Bush. “We wanted to schedule this team at the end of the regular season because we knew they had an elite freshman pitcher (Kenzie Jackson), and she did really good. It gave us a chance to see a very good pitcher going into the postseason.”
Tigerette senior lefty Kailey Plumlee struck out 19 batters while surrendering 2 hits and no walks in the complete-game shutout.
“Kailey went over 100 pitches, which is good for her building her stamina back up,” said Bush. “We have some big games coming up so this was good for us.”
Stone Memorial freshman pitcher Kenzie Jackson struck out 9 batters while surrendering 4 hits and 7 walks in the loss.
After two scoreless innings, Gordonsville went to work offensively with 5 runs in the bottom of the third inning via singles from Plumlee, Laura Thompson and Callie Dillard along with a bases-loaded walk and Kailyn Roberts sacrifice fly.
“Camri Johnson hit a deep shot to center to get everything going and we rallied from that,” said Bush. “If we can get some early runs, it takes such a load off of our team and Kailey.”
Stone Memorial threatened in the top of the sixth inning with bases loaded and two outs, but a Plumlee strikeout kept the Gordonsville shutout alive. Plumlee struck out the final three batters in the top of the seventh inning to seal the 5-0 victory.
“We needed exactly this game,” said Bush. “Their girl (Jackson) throws hard and can throw inside. We had to compete.”
Gordonsville finishes the regular season at 28-1 overall while Stone Memorial finishes at 14-4. Both teams advance to their respective district tournaments later this week as the Tigerettes host the 7-1A tournament while Stone Memorial enters the 7-3A tourney at DeKalb County as the #2 seed.
“Everybody is 0-0 now and all the things we’ve done so far are over,” said Bush. “It’s time to start fresh.”
