Lady ’Cats middle softball opens season
The 2024 middle school softball season is underway, and Oak Ridge’s middle school team opened the campaign with a pair of victories.
On Wednesday, Aug. 7, the Lady Wildcats notched a 4-2 victory over Bearden. They scored all four of their runs in the second inning of the three-inning contest, and never trailed against the Lady Bulldogs.
“We play an hour and 15 minutes, or we finish the inning,” Coach Jeremy Gill said.
Ansley Douglas had two hits, including a triple and a stolen base.
Bay Hensley went 1-for-2, stole a pair of bases, recorded two RBIs, and scored a run.
Lead-off hitter Hadley Gardner was 1-for-2 with a stolen base and a run scored.
In the circle, Gardner was the Lady Wildcats’ starter. She pitched 2- 2/3 innings, allowing two runs, four hits, and five walks. She struck out one.
Hensley recorded the last out of the game with a strikeout.
In the season opener on Monday, Aug. 5, the Lady Wildcats won in thrilling fashion, with a walk-off victory at home over Knoxville Catholic.
Oak Ridge, which fell behind 2-0 in the first inning, scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth against the Lady Irish to earn the win.
Douglas had a big day at the plate for Oak Ridge, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs. She hit a double and a triple, with her triple serving as the catalyst for the comeback.
Hensley went 2-for-2 with a double, scored twice, and captured a stolen base. Brianna West also tripled, scored, stole a base, and drove in a run.
Kylee Primm singled and drove in two runs for the Lady Wildcats, who are largely composed of students from Robertsville and Jefferson middle schools. Gardner was 1-for-3 with a run scored.
Hensley threw a complete game, going four innings. She gave up seven runs (six earned), four hits, and six walks, with six strikeouts.
“We’ve got a pretty decent team, and we actually played well,” Gill said. “Against Catholic, we were down three with two outs when Ansley came up and laced a triple down the line to tie the game. She cleared the bases.”
After the triple with the bases loaded that knotted the game 7-7, Douglas would later come home with the winning run.