Lady Dragons secure district’s top spot
Clinton sophomore Addison George delivers a pitch during a game against Powell on Wednesday, April 22. George worked two innings in the circle, throwing 25 strikes while facing 11 batters. (photo:Tony Cox )
The Lady Dragons (19-12-2) will be the No. 1 seed in the District 4-AA Tournament, which opens Monday at Anderson County.
Clinton opened last week on the north side of Knox County, edging Knoxville Halls, 4-2, on Monday, April 20.
Maddisyn Reynolds had two hits to lead the offense against the Lady Devils. She doubled, scored one run and drove in another. Elizabeth Graham had a double and two RBIs, while Tegan Bunch singled and knocked in a run.
On Wednesday, April 22, the Lady Dragons dropped a 12-1 decision to Powell at home.
“Against Powell, we used our sophomore pitcher [Addison George], who hasn’t pitched a lot this season,” Clinton Coach Leonard Sams said. “I don’t want to say that these games don’t count because they all count.
“But when they’re not district games, you want to play some younger kids against some good teams so you can see what they’ve got.”
Clinton collected eight hits but committed four errors against the Lady Panthers.
Mandy Chambers had two hits and one RBI, including a double. Reynolds tripled and scored, while Graham also doubled.
On Friday, Clinton opened play in Farragut with a 4-2 loss to Alcoa.
The loss for the Lady Dragons was one for which Sams took the blame.
“We had a coaching error against Alcoa and if we don’t have that, they only score one run,” Sams said. “We didn’t have our outfielders positioned right and they hit the ball where we should’ve been.
“I’ll take the blame for that. I’m the coach and that’s my responsibility.”
Against the Lady Tornadoes, McKenley Osborne had a hit and drove in both runs for Clinton, while Chambers and Bryana Holt both singled and scored.
The Lady Dragons played their final tournament game in Farragut on Saturday morning and routed Knoxville Catholic, 10-1.
Holt had a two-run home run against the Lady Irish, while Chambers went 2-for-2 with an RBI and two runs scored. Osborne had two hits, an RBI and a run scored. Norah Elliott singled and drove in two runs.
Sams is pleased with his team heading into the final week of the regular season.
“They’re playing like a true team right now and that’s the biggest thing for me,” he said.
