Lady Wildcats find winning ways
It’s no secret that wins have been hard to come by this season for the Oak Ridge High School softball team.
The Lady Wildcats, however, found their way into the win column three times last week as they outlasted Oliver Springs in nine innings and routed District 4-4A rival McMinn County twice, including once in a tournament in Ooltewah over the weekend.
Oak Ridge (4-11-1 overall, 1-7 in the district) also had a 6-6 tie against Hixson and suffered losses to Rhea County, 7-0, East Hamilton, 12-7, and Marion County, 8-1.
The Lady Wildcats opened the week by edging the Lady Bobcats 13-12 in nine innings on Monday, March 30. Oak Ridge earned the non-district victory in walk-off fashion as Amiyah King ended the game with an RBI single.
Kaylee Primm flexed her power at the plate as she went 3-for-5 with a home run and a double. She also scored four runs and drove in two. Bay Hensley, the Lady Wildcats’ leadoff hitter, was 3-for-5 with a double, three runs scored and an RBI. Anslee Douglas went 3-for-5 with a double, a run scored and an RBI.
Oak Ridge Coach Jeremy Gill said his squad picked up a big win over the Lady Bobcats.
“We beat Oliver Springs and we really needed that one,” Gill said. “We had a pretty good week. We had three wins, three losses and a tie, and the tie against Hixson was one that got away from us.”
On Tuesday, March 31, Oak Ridge dropped a 7-0 District 4-4A contest to the Lady Eagles.
On Thursday, the Lady Wildcats earned their first-ever District 4-4A victory as they shut out the Lady Cherokees, 15-0, pounding out 17 hits and taking advantage of three McMinn County errors.
In the circle, King and Hensley combined on a one-hitter.
Primm went 2-for-4 with a home run, five RBIs and two runs scored. Hensley was 3-for-4 with a double. She drove in two runs and scored two more.
Taryn McGuire also homered and drove in three runs for the Lady Wildcats. She scored twice. Douglas had three hits, including a double, and drove in a run.
In the 6-6 tie against Hixson, Hensley went 2-for-5 with a triple and two runs scored.
The Lady Wildcats lost a slugfest to East Hamilton, 12-7, in tournament play. The game, however, was tied 6-6 before Oak Ridge scored the go-ahead run, only to see East Hamilton score six runs in its final at-bat.
Douglas and Hensley both had three hits, two RBIs and a run scored.
The Lady Wildcats also routed McMinn County, 15-1, in tournament play as they scored nine runs in the second inning.
Primm tripled, scored three runs and drove in another. Douglas had three hits and two RBIs. Leah Curran doubled, scored three runs and drove in another. Hensley also had three hits, three runs scored and three RBIs.
