Sherwood’s arm (and bat) carry Clinton
Lady Dragon Taylor Sherwood put on a show Saturday morning notching the win in the circle over Powell High. She also tagged the winning run with a dinger to left field in the top of the final frame. (photo:Ken Leinart )
For starters, the Clinton High School junior kept one of the area’s most-potent offensive attacks in check, as the Lady Dragons edged one-time District 3-AAA rival Powell, 3-2, in five innings in the Region II Challenge at Hardin Valley Academy.
Sherwood went four innings, giving up two runs and four hits. She struck out three. She yielded just two hits after the first inning after the Lady Dragons fell behind 2-1 in the opening frame.
Her stellar performance wasn’t just limited to the pitcher’s circle.
She also hit the game-winning home run in the top of the fifth, a solo shot over the left-field fence.
“This was a big win for us. It was good to beat Powell,” said Sherwood, who went 2-for-2 at the plate.
CHS coach Leonard Sams said his team had a solid outing against the Lady Panthers.
“This was big for us,” Sams said. “Taylor threw a great game and we played good defense.
“When Taylor’s on, she’s tough to beat and when we play defense like that, we can compete with anybody.”
Clinton took a 1-0 lead in the first when a sacrifice fly by Elizabeth Graham plated Bree McKamey, who led off the game with a single. McKamey took second on a single by Addi Gamble and advanced to third when Sherwood executed a sacrifice bunt.
Trailing 2-1 in third, the Lady Dragons got a double by Lynlee Adkins, scored McKamey, who went 2-for-3 with two runs against the Lady Panthers.
After Sherwood gave the Lady the Dragons the lead in the top of the fifth, McKamey earned a save as she slammed the door on Powell as she retired three of the four batters she face, yielding a single Leslie Hensley with two outs.
That was the beginning of a busy day on the diamond for the Lady Dragons, who lost, 4-3, to defending Class AA State Champion Alcoa as Sherwood had two hits (including a double), two RBIs and a run scored. Graham was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Gamble singled and scored.
Clinton closed out tournament play with a 7-4 loss to Grace Christian Academy.
McKamey had a home run, a double and four RBIs against the Lady Rams. Sherwood and Izzy Woods had two hits each.
The Lady Dragons (20-8) returned to Hardin Valley Monday and defeated the Lady Hawks 1-0 as McKamey threw a two hit shutout. She walked one and struck out 11.