GRAY — The Rogersville City School Lady Warriors didn’t play their best softball of the season on Saturday, but the co-conference champions did what they had to do to reach the Area 2-A title game with a pair of wins over Bulls Gap and Sulphur Springs.
The RCS Lady Warriors ended Bulls Gap’s season with a 14-2 win early Saturday and then came back to squeak by Sulphur Springs 7-5 in the semifinals. Sulphur Springs eliminated a short-handed Surgoinsville team to reach the semifinals.
The RCS victories set up a championship showdown with co-champion Ridgeview on the Lady Raptors’ home field for the Area 2-A title on Monday at 5 p.m. Results of that game will not be available in time for Wednesday’s print edition. However, because three teams from each area advance, both teams will move on to the sectional tournament regardless of the outcome.
Sulphur Springs will battle Gray, which lost to Ridgeview in the other semifinal, in the consolation game at 5 p.m. for the league’s third spot in the sectional tournament.
In Saturday’s opener Shailynn Scalf drove in four runs on three hits to lead RCS to a 14-2 win over Bulls Gap. Scalf hit an inside-the-park home run. Caroline Hicks also had three hits for RCS. Aryiona Holmes had two hits, including a double. Ainsley Price also had two hits.
In the second game, Scalf went 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs to lead RCS. Addy Arnwine, Price and Holmes each went 2 for 3 with an RBI. Carter Thurman also drove in a run for the Lady Warriors.
Anna Mae Boyd pitched both games for the Lady Warriors to earn the wins. In the first game, she gave up two runs on three hits in four innings, walked five and struck out four in five innings to end Bulls Gap’s season. In the second game, Boyd went the full seven and gave up five runs on 10 hits with four walks and 10 strikeouts. She also made a spectacular grab on a hard line drive hit back at her in the pitching circle.
Sulphur Springs advanced with a 20-7 win over Surgoinsville. The Lady Eagles, who’ve been decimated by late-season injuries, had to add additional players just to finish the season. Still, they battled down to the final out.
“They’re a great group. If every kid was like this bunch, my job would be easy. They’ve got a lot of heart, a lot of character, a lot of fight. I just hate that it ends this way,” SMS coach Greg Barnett said. “I just hate it for my girls.”
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