May 10, 2012
The Motlow Lady Bucks were one out away from advancing in the TCCAA/Region VII Tournament before committing a pair of errors that allowed Southwest Tennessee to escape with a 4-3 win, ending the Lady Bucks 2012 softball season with a 20-28 record.
Perennial power Chattanooga State regained its spot as state champion with a 2-0 win over Walters State in the tournament championship game on Wednesday, and will compete in the National Championship tournament in St. George, Utah later this month.
The Lady Bucks opened the tournament by beating Dyersburg State 10-4 Sunday afternoon in a 'play-in' game, securing Motlow a spot in the regular tournament which got underway on Monday. The Lady Bucks lost to Volunteer State 8-0 Monday morning and fell to Southwest Tennessee Monday night.
First-year head coach Tori Raby-Gentry knew going into the season that her team might struggle at times, and she would have liked to have more victories, but her final analysis indicates the Lady Bucks surpassed expectations.
"The season did not go as well as I hoped," said Raby-Gentry. "But twenty wins for a team that was thrown together in the last minute isn't bad. This is a great group of young ladies and I'm proud of the effort they gave this season.
"All of our sophomores are continuing their education next year and that is always our top goal. Hopefully some of them will continue their softball careers if that's what they want," she added. "We wish them nothing but the best."
Raby-Gentry has already signed ten high school seniors who will be freshmen at Motlow next year and will be counted on to help return the Lady Bucks to the top of the conference standings.
Lady Bucks 10 Dyersburg State 4
Motlow wasted no time Sunday afternoon as leadoff batter Meghan Brayton opened the game with a triple and Danielle Davis singled her home. Davis then stole second, advanced to third on a passed ball, and scored on Roxanne Hillman's single to give the Lady Bucks a quick 2-0 lead.
With two outs Megan Hemmingsen singled, Veronica Blackburn reached base, and Kayla Green doubled to drive home two more runs. Alissa Dickerson added an RBI single and Brayton finished off the first inning with an RBI single to give the Lady Bucks a 6-0 cushion.
Hillman (12-12) went the distance and got the win on the mound for Motlow, scattering seven hits and allowing only one earned run. Brayton and Davis each had three hits at the top of the batting order, while Green had a pair of hits and four runs batted in.
Volunteer State 8 Lady Bucks 0
The Lady Bucks only managed one hit, a Brayton single in the top of the sixth inning, against the Lady Pioneers' outstanding pitcher. Kayla Green (8-14) took the loss for Motlow, allowing seven hits and four earned runs. She faced four batters in the sixth inning before Volunteer State scored its eighth run and ended the game.
Southwest Tennessee 4 Lady Bucks 3
The Monday evening loss to the Lady Saluqis will linger with the Lady Bucks for a while as it appeared Motlow was on its way to advancing to play at least one more contest.
The Lady Bucks scored two runs with two outs in the second inning to take the lead. Alissa Dickerson slammed a two-run double, driving in Veronica Blackburn who had singled and Green who had walked.
The lead increased to 3-0 in the fourth when Dickerson again came up with a big two-out hit, driving in Blackburn who had doubled and advanced to third on a Green single. Entering the bottom of the fourth inning Hillman had allowed only one hit.
However, the Lady Saluqis plated single runs in both the fourth and fifth innings, setting the stage for their seventh inning rally and victory to end the Lady Bucks' season.
Hillman pitched well enough to win, scattering eight hits and allowing only one earned run. Dickerson drove in all three runs on two hits, while Davis and Blackburn also had two hits each. Dickerson, Hillman, and Blackburn are all freshman players who will be counted on to be leaders for the 2013 Lady Bucks.
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