Lady Mavs fall short of region
The Anderson County High School Softball Lady Mavericks’ season came to an end last week.
Anderson County needed one win to advance to the championship, and clinch a region tournament birth.
However, the Lady Mavs lost two straight games by one run, and were eliminated.
After upsetting Powell 1-0 in an intense, ten-inning thriller, Anderson County advanced to face the top-seeded Lady Devils of Halls High School.
Anderson County soon found themselves in a ballgame which was extremely similar to the contest they had played three days prior.
The Lady Devils struck early and took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
Yet, the quality in the circle for both teams showed, and both offenses would struggle to produce.
Through the following four innings, the game was scoreless.
In the top of the sixth inning, the Lady Mavs would finally get on the scoreboard.
Three straight singles would load the bases for Anderson County.
The ensuing batter, senior Hannah Bruce, was hit by a pitch, which knotted the game up 1-1.
Still, the bases were loaded, but the Lady Mavs stranded all three baserunners.
In the bottom half of the inning, Halls looked to regain the lead.
With two outs and a Lady Devil on third, Hannah Bruce would keep Halls off the board with a big strikeout to end the inning.
For the second straight game, Anderson County would play extra innings, as both teams held each other scoreless in the seventh inning.
The Lady Mavs struggled offensively in the top of the eighth inning. Then, again, Anderson County and would find themselves with their backs against the wall in the home half of the eigth.
A two-out ground ball turned into a two-error defensive nightmare for the Lady Mavs, and Halls threatened again, as the runner advanced to third on the errors.
However, the ensuing Halls batter would groundout to Bruce, and again, the Lady Mavs would get out of the jam.
In the top of the ninth, the Lady Devils forced Anderson County to go three-up, three down.
In the bottom of the ninth, Anderson Countyfaced the same scenario for the third straight inning.
With two outs, and a runner on third, it would be heartbreak for the Lady Mavs. An RBI-walk-off single would send Halls into championship game, with a 2-1 win over
Anderson County.
The loss dropped the Lady Mavs into the losers bracket, where Anderson County would face a rematch with Powell.
The win-and-you’re-in or loser-goes-home contest marked the sixth, and most important meeting between the two teams in 2019.
Just five days prior, Anderson County upset the Lady Panthers, 1-0.
However, Powell would get revenge.
The Lady Panthers took an early 1-0 lead, in the bottom of the second inning.
The lone run would be all Powell needed. The Lady Mavs struggled at the plate, finding only two hits in the ballgame.
Powell eliminated Anderson County with a 1-0 win, and the Lady Mavs’ 2019 season came to an end.
Anderson County finishes the season with an overall record of 27-17.
Hannah Bruce and Emilee Fowler, both Maryville College commits, end their Lady Maverick careers with honors, as they were named to the District 3-AAA Tournament Team.