Lady Wildcats reel off best week in 11 years
Jeremy Gill is in the midst of building the softball program at Oak Ridge High School.
Now in his third year at the helm, Coach Gill has guided the Lady Wildcats to their most successful season in more than a decade.
Oak Ridge also had its best week in 11 years as it posted three wins, including a District 4-4A victory over McMinn County that clinched a season sweep of the Lady Cherokees.
After an 11-0 district loss to Lenoir City to open the week on Monday, April 13, the Lady Wildcats rebounded to win three consecutive games.
“The Lenoir City game got away from us early. Their leadoff hitter hit a home run,” Gill said. “But then, we won three in a row and we had a good week.
“I went back and looked, and this was the first time that Oak Ridge had won three in a row in 11 years. We’ve won eight games this year, and that’s the most Oak Ridge has won in 11 years. That’s what they had on MaxPreps.”
After losing to the Lady Panthers, the Lady Wildcats routed Midway, 13-1, on Tuesday, April 14.
Amiyah King posted a solid performance in the circle as she tossed a complete game in four innings. She gave up one unearned run on four hits and struck out four. King also went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored.
Bay Hensley, Oak Ridge’s leadoff hitter, went 1-for-3. She tripled, stole two bases, drove in two runs and scored twice. Kaylee Primm went 2-for-3 with a triple, two stolen bases and four runs scored. Kylie Martin had two hits and two RBIs.
Later in the week, the Lady Wildcats picked up their second district win and recorded their first District 4-4A series sweep when they edged McMinn County, 7-5.
Hensley struck out six in the circle. She also did damage at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a triple, three RBIs and a run scored.
Oak Ridge closed out the week with a 15-2 victory over Campbell County.
King threw another complete game as she worked five innings. She surrendered four hits, two unearned runs and one walk. She struck out three against the Lady Cougars. She had three hits, including a double, and drove in three runs.
Hensley had three hits, including a triple, scored two runs and drove in one. Anslee Douglas singled and drove in two runs. Taryn McGuire went 2-for-3 with a double, three runs scored and an RBI. Leah Curran had two hits, two runs scored and two RBIs, while Hadley Gardner had three hits, including a triple, scored two runs and drove in two.
“We’re hitting the ball well,” Gill said.
