Lady Dragons beat Oak Ridge
Although the Clinton Lady Dragons started the week with a loss at Karns, they wrapped up the week with a regular season sweep of Campbell County and Oak Ridge.
On Monday, Clinton dropped a road game to Karns by a score of 8-1.
The Lady Beavers jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first and added a run came in the second and two in the third.
The Lady Dragons’ lone run in the top of the fourth when Kinsley Williams walked, stole second, and eventually scored on a RBI ground out by Nikki Jones.
Lexi Cochran and Kara Bradley each had a hit, the only two hits for Clinton.
Bradley took the loss as she pitched three innings and allowed four earned runs on seven hits.
After a rainout on Tuesday, the Lady Dragons got back on track with an 11-1 win over Campbell County on Wednesday.
Clinton took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Cochran walked and stole second. She scored on an RBI single by Sophie Seivers.
The Lady Dragons extended their lead in the second when they plated six runs. Williams reached on a one-out single and stole second. Bradley singled to move Williams to third. Williams then scored on a wild pitch. Olivia Jenkins then reached on an error to advance Bradley and both runners moved up a base on another wild pitch. Jones singled to score Bradley and move Jenkins to third. Skylar Newby then doubled to score Jenkins and Jones. Newby stole third and scored when Cochran reached on an error. Cochran stole second and advanced to third on ground ball. She scored when Halie Martin reached on an error.
The Lady Cougars scored a run in the top of the third.
In the bottom of the fifth, Clinton scored three more runs. Seivers led off with a base hit and Karleigh York doubled to put runners on second and third. Both runners scored when Williams reached on an error.
Williams stole second and scored when Jenkins reached on an error.
Leading 10-1 in the bottom of the sixth, Newby led-off with a solo home run to win the game in walkoff fashion.
Newby was 2-2 with a home run, a double, and three RBI. She also picked up the win as she pitched six innings and allowed no earned runs on four hits with six strikeouts.
“Newby is an impact player in the field and at the plate. She is really coming along. And as a team, we hit the ball pretty well tonight,” said Lecia Watson, head coach of the Lady Dragons.
Seivers was 2-3 with an RBI while Jones, Cochran, Williams, Bradley, and York each had a hit.
On Thursday, the Lady Dragons picked up a regular season sweep over visiting Oak Ridge, winning by a score of 5-2.
The Lady Wildcats scored two unearned runs in the first inning but Clinton added a run in the bottom of the first when Cochran led-off with a base hit and stole second. She scored on an RBI-single by Jones.
It was a 2-1 game until the bottom of the third when the Lady Dragons pushed three across to take the 4-2 lead. Cochran led-off with a base hit and stole second.
Newby followed with a base hit moving Cochran to third. Newby stole second and Seivers doubled to score both runs. Seivers moved to third when Jones reached on an error. Seivers scored on a groundout to the right side by Annabelle Jackson.
Clinton wrapped up scoring in the bottom of the sixth when Jackson led off when a base hit and scored on a single by Cochran.
Newby got the start and the win as she pitched seven innings and allowed no earned runs on two hits and struck out four.
“We were solid defensively. We made the routine plays. One of our goals today was to minimize our errors, make the routine plays, get better at running bases, and get our bats going — and we did,” said Watson.
With the win, the Lady Dragons solidified sixth place in the district, a major step forward for a team that missed the district tournament last season.
Clinton will host Knox Central on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. They end the regular season with a road game at Sweetwater on Friday at 6 p.m. and a game at Pigeon Forge on Monday at 6 p.m. The district tournament will open play at Halls on Wednesday, May 3.