By Michael Lindsay
The Stone Memorial Lady Panthers’ historical softball season will conclude in the state tournament next week following their 1-0 victory over Soddy Daisy in the Class 3A sectional round on Friday.
“I’m super proud of these girls and the grit they showed this entire game,” said Stone Memorial head coach Brittany Bilbrey. “Teams go through all kinds of adversity through a season, and they followed through with their commitment.”
Friday’s sectional win follows a 14-13 win over Watertown in the Region 4-3A championship game on Wednesday.
“This game was different,” said Bilbrey. “Sometimes we make the game harder than it needs to be, but we made plays on defense and got timely hits. It shows the resilience and the character of our girls.”
Sophomore pitcher Kenzie Jackson earned the complete-game shutout victory while allowing 1 hit, 6 walks and striking out 7 batters while going 1-2 at the plate with a double.
Soddy Daisy put pressure on the Lady Panthers by loading the bases in the first and third innings, but Stone Memorial got out of each jam unscathed as the game remained tied 0-0 going to the bottom of the third inning.
Friday’s lone run came in the bottom of the third as Lady Panther shortstop Ashley Whittenburg drew a walk followed by a Jackson single to give the Lady Panthers two on with one out.
University of Tennessee signee Cadence Cox stepped in on the ensuing at-bat and delivered an RBI single to center, scoring Whittenburg and giving Stone Memorial a 1-0 lead.
Soddy Daisy threatened with a runner at third in the top of the fifth and one out, but the Lady Panthers kept them off the board by tagging out a runner at the plate before striking out the third batter to preserve their 1-0 lead.
The Lady Trojans had the tying run on first base in the tops of the sixth and seventh innings, but got no further as Stone Memorial completed the shutout to win 1-0 and advance to the state tournament for the first time in 19 years.
Stone Memorial will take the field in the Class 3A state tournament on Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Murfreesboro’s Starplex sports complex located at McKnight Park, opponent TBD.
“The support has been amazing,” said Bilbrey. “We just can’t wait to see all their faces in Murfreesboro.”
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