Lady Wildcats’ season teeters after tournament loss
The 2025 postseason began with a tough setback for the Oak Ridge High School softball team.
The fifth-seeded Lady Wildcats fell 11-1 to No. 4 seed Powell in the opening round of the District 3-4A tournament Monday night at Halls High School in Knoxville.
Oak Ridge (6-18) had played Powell close during the regular season, dropping a narrow 1-0 decision at home.
Early in the tournament matchup, the Lady Wildcats hung around, trailing just 3-1 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning.
But Powell broke the game open with five runs in the fourth, and added three more in the fifth to end the game via run rule.
“We were hanging in there and the girls were playing really well,” Oak Ridge Coach Jeremy Gill said. “Then they started hitting the ball — and hitting it hard. I think they hit three home runs, and they had some bloop hits that really hurt us. They had two bloop hits and followed with a three-run home run.”
Offensively, Oak Ridge managed just two hits — singles from Brenna Bradshaw and Amiyah King. Taylor Hensley drew a walk and scored the lone run.
The Lady Wildcats ended the regular season with a win over Campbell County on April 29.
Leah Curran went 3-for-4 with a run scored. Gloria Rust was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Morgan Perry added two hits and drove in two runs.
King had a run-scoring single, while Kaylee Hickman finished with two hits and a run scored. Bradshaw chipped in a hit, two runs and two RBIs.
In the circle, Emmerson Bradshaw and Hickman combined for a six-hitter, with 10 strikeouts.
One day earlier, on April 28, a short-handed Oak Ridge squad — missing several players due to an awards night conflict — lost 6-0 at Harriman.
Curran and Rust each had two hits, while Hensley, Aliyah San Nicolas and Taryn McGuire also singled.
