Clay County Softball Records 16 Hits In 8-7 Victory Over Cookeville

By Michael Lindsay

The Clay County Lady Bulldogs improved to 11-1 overall on Monday as they opened their week with an 8-7 victory over Class 4A Cookeville.

“It was good game,” said Clay County head coach Homer Dailey. “Both teams played a good game. We battled back and forth, and I’m just proud of how our girls stayed in a moment and just kept digging. We found a way to win.”

Clay County racked up 16 hits in the win including a 3-4 performance from center fielder Jenna Thompson. Analiece Dailey, Rylee Baxter, Reagan Cherry, Haylen Garrison and Tyla Adams recorded two hits each while pitcher Baylor Walden recorded the complete-game victory with 8 strikeouts.

“You want to play good teams,” added Dailey. “You’ll learn more about your team in a close battle than run-ruling a team.”

Cookeville struck first as a Lexi Kilgore grounder scored Kali Webb to give the Lady Cavs a 1-0 lead after one inning.

Clay County answered in the bottom of the second inning as Thompson scored on a wild pitch followed by an Adams single to score Baxter and a Lila Birdwell grounder to score Garrison, making the score 3-1 Bulldogs after two innings.

Cookeville 4-3 in the top of the third inning as a pair of two-out hits by Channing Swallows and Aspen Lyles scored three runs to give the Lady Cavs a one-run advantage.

The lead flipped again in the bottom of the fourth as a back-t0-back singles by Walden and Thompson scored a run each to give Clay County a 5-4 advantage.

The Lady Cavs tied the game again in the top of the fifth inning on a Kilgore grounder to score Kamryn Olvera, tying the game at 5-5 through the top of the fifth.

Clay County reclaimed the lead again in the bottom-half of the fifth inning as they scored three runs in the frame to take an 8-5 lead.

Cookeville threatened in the top of the seventh inning by scoring two runs with one out to make the score 8-7. The Lady Cavaliers had the tying run at third base, but Walden forced a fly-out for the final out of the game to seal Clay County’s 8-7 victory.

Up next for the Lady Bulldogs is a home game against Pickett County on Tuesday at 5:30 while Cookeville is scheduled to play at Coffee County on Wednesday.