Baylor Walden Strikes Out 10 As Clay County Wins At Stone Memorial, 6-3

By Michael Lindsay

The Clay County Lady Bulldogs improved to 17-1 overall on Tuesday as they traveled to Crossville and defeated Stone Memorial, 6-3.

“We just stayed the course,” said Clay County head coach Homer Dailey. “They jumped out on us with a big two-run home run and they had 2 more on base with no outs, but found a way to get out of the inning. You want to play good teams like Stone because that’s what you’re going to see come tournament time.”

Clay County senior pitcher Baylor Walden earned the complete-game victory in the circle as she struck out 10 batters while walking 3 and surrendering 7 hits. Stone Memorial sophomore Kenzie Jackson also struck out 10 batters.

Stone Memorial got on the board first as Jackson delivered a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning to give Stone Memorial a 2-0 lead.

Clay County answered in the top of the third with three runs as Jenna Thompson drew a bases-loaded walk followed by back-to-back RBI singles by Rylee Baxter and Reagan Cherry to give the Lady Bulldogs a 3-2 advantage.

Clay County took advantage of a Stone Memorial error in the top of the fifth inning as a Cherry grounder scored Avery Davis to make the score 4-2. Stone Memorial pulled back within a run in the bottom of the fifth on an Eva Worsham single to score Jackson, making the score 4-3 entering the sixth inning.

The Lady Bulldogs tacked on some insurance in the top of the seventh inning as a Tyla Adams grounder forced a Stone Memorial error, scoring two runs to give Clay County a 6-3 lead.

Stone Memorial got two runners on in the bottom of the seventh inning with the tying run at the plate, but Walden shut the door with back-to-back strikeouts to preserve the 6-3 road victory.

Up next for Clay County is a home game against Trousdale County on Thursday while Stone Memorial is scheduled to host Midway on Monday.