Livingston Opens District 7-3A Softball Tournament Play With 4-0 Win Over Upperman; Next Round Postponed Due To Weather

By Michael Lindsay

The top-seeded Livingston Academy Lady Wildcats kicked off postseason play on Tuesday as they defeated Upperman 4-0 in the District 7-3A tournament.

Senior pitcher Calla Pierce recorded the complete-game shutout victory as the lefty struck out 4 batters, allowed 4 hits and 0 walks. Shortstop Jozie Allen went 3-4 at the plate while second baseman Jaycee Collins went 2-3 with a triple and 2 runs scored. Upperman center fielder Averie Wilken went 2-4 at the plate.

Neither team scored through the first three innings before Livingston broke through in the bottom of the fourth. A Collins triple set her up at third, where a Tatum Pendergrass grounder sent her home to give Livingston a 1-0 lead after 4 innings.

A Reece Collins sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth inning scored Bailey Qualls, extending her team’s lead to 2-0 after two innings. Livingston added two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth via an error to score Jalla Rudd and a Qualls grounder to score Jaycee Collins, making the final score 4-0.

Livingston advances in the winners’ bracket to face Stone Memorial while Upperman falls to the consolation bracket and will face the winner of Cumberland County and White County, who’s game got delayed due to lighting in the top of the third inning with White County leading 1-0.

The conclusion of White County/Cumberland County, Stone Memorial/Livingston and the consolation game featuring Upperman were scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, but have been pushed to Thursday due to inclement weather. As of now, White County and Cumberland County will finish their matchup at Livingston at 3 p.m. followed by Livingston Academy/Stone Memorial at 5, then Upperman will face the winner of White County/Cumberland County at 7 p.m.