Lady Dragons’ bats are coming alive
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“Just a bit inside” — Clinton’s Taylor Sherwood gets out of the way of a Halls pitch last Tuesday when the Lady Dragons hosted the Lady Red Devils. - Ken Leinart
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Clinton ace Bree McKamey took the hard-luck loss against Halls last Tuesday despite striking out 16 Lady Red Devil batters. - Ken Leinart
Playing in one of the state’s most-competitive softball tournaments, Clinton High School saw its bats come alive in six games over the weekend.
The Lady Dragons won five out of six games at the Kingsport Eastman Invitational Friday and Saturday.
Clinton (8-4) closed its stay in Northeast Tennessee with a 4-3 loss to District 4-AAA rival Knoxville Halls Sunday night. But even in defeat against the Lady Devils Sunday night, CHS Head Coach Leonard Sams was pleased with his squad’s effort against Halls ace Emery Bales.
“We saw Emery, their best, and we only struck out four times against her Sunday,” Sams said.
Clinton opened the week with a 5-2 district loss to the Lady Devils, and in that game, Bales had 12 strikeouts as she outdueled CHS pitcher Bree McKamey, who took a loss in the circle despite 16 strikeouts.
“We had 12 strikeouts against (Bales) the first time, so that shows you that our bats are starting to come around,” Sams said. “We were ahead against Halls (Sunday) and then they got a couple of bloop singles.”
The Lady Dragons scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning after falling behind 2-0. Clinton held the lead until the Lady Devils scored a pair of runs in the fourth.
Clinton came up with eight hits against Bales Sunday night as McKamey, Addi Gamble and Taylor Sherwood had two hits each.
Heaven Britt-Kimbriel doubled and drove in two runs in the tournament finale.
The Lady Dragons opened tournament play Saturday with a 13-1 victory over South Greene.
Gamble went 3-for-3 and scored three runs. Sherwood went 2-for-3 with four RBIs and a run scored against the Lady Rebels.
Elizabeth Graham, a freshman, went 2-for-2. She drove in three runs and scored one more.
Clinton was victorious in its second game Saturday, claiming a 9-4 win over Kingston.
McKamey pitched a three-inning complete game, allowing four runs and five hits. She had four strikeouts.
She was also a force at the plate as she was 2-for-2 with a run scored.
Gamble had a double, a stolen base and two hits (including a double). She knocked in two runs and scored another.
Graham also pitched in with two doubles, a run and an RBI. Tomi Taylor had two hits, two runs and an RBI.
In the final game Saturday, the Lady Dragons outlasted Whitehouse-Heritage 5-1 as McKamey came up with a double, a triple, two runs and an RBI.
On Sunday, the Lady Dragons opened play with a 4-2 win over West Ridge as Sherwood went 2-for-2 with two runs and a double, and Britt-Kimbriel had two hits and two RBIs.
Also on Sunday, the Lady Dragons captured a 4-3 win over Cooke-ville as Izzy Woods had a walk-off single in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Sams said he was pleased with his team’s offense over the weekend.
“Our bats are coming alive,” he said. “It was a great tournament, one of the best tournaments in the state. There were a lot of good teams there. Everybody there was good.
“I’m very pleased and I’m glad that we’re finally getting a chance to play softball.”