The last couple of weeks have been hectic to say the least. With a tight schedule and several make-up games, we have struggled to keep up. If not for the great writing efforts of Shawn Renfro, we probably would not have gotten anything on the site. However, we would like to go back to last week and report on a great effort by the Lady Waves against the Knox Webb Lady Spartans.
Enjoyable. That is the best word to describe the Lady Waves’ win against the Lady Spartans on Tuesday. Enjoyable to watch the Lady Waves play a very good Knox Webb team and win convincingly. Enjoyable to watch our girls play with such guts and determination. Hard slides, in-the-dirt defensive plays, and aggressive batting were the norm on Tuesday. Tuesday night’s game was what most Lady Waves fans expect to see. One of the best teams in Class A softball playing like one of the best teams in Class A softball. This Webb game was not won on walks or errors by the Webb team. This game was won by solid at-bats by the Lady Waves and superb defense by the Green girls. The Webb pitcher did not issue one walk in the entire game, and only five Webb girls struck out. Coach Hutchinson and Coach Viar are always looking for a team effort, and that is what they got.
In the first inning, the Green would go in order with two strikeouts and a ground out. In the bottom of the first, Webb’s two lead-off slappers would both reach base. A slapper’s job is to put pressure on the defense and see if it will break. Midways defense bent in the first, but the Lady Waves’ right fielder, Paige Moree, refused to let it break. When the #3 Webb batter hit a long, high shot that sent Moree back to the fence, she made a great catch and an even greater throw to second base. Dee Borum made the tag on the Webb runner, who was tagging up and coming from first. Borum would get the third out on a pop-up to her at the shortstop position.
In the second inning, Michele Walden would hit a long shot for a stand-up double, but would be left stranded. All-State pitcher Hannah Colyer would retire the side with three strikeouts in the bottom of the second.
The Green girls would get going in the third, after Borum cranked a hard shot to center field for a double. Senior Alex Coffman would move Borum to third with a single. Coffman would then steal second. Senior Krystal Rue, who would be the hero in the Coalfield game later in the week, drove the ball up the middle of the field to score Borum and Coffman. Rue would be thrown out at third on a very questionable call by the umpire. Midway 2, Webb 0. Webb would go down in order in the third.
In the fourth, lead-off batter Taylor Narramore would blast a long, high shot to center field. Most Green fans thought the ball was gone, but it was not to be. The ball glanced off the tip of the center fielder’s glove and bounced off the top of the fence, back into play. Narramore would end up on second and be left stranded. In the bottom of the fourth, the #2 slapper for Webb again reached safely. Then, a pop-up was caught by Narramore at second for an out. A hard shot was knocked down by first baseman Kati Alexander. Narramore retrieved the ball and threw back to Alexander for the out. A great hustle play by both girls. A strikeout by Colyer would end the fourth.
The game remained tight throughout the fifth and sixth innings, with Midway still holding onto a slim 2-0 lead.
In the top of the seventh, second baseman Narramore would again go deep, this time to right center. The ball bounced over the fence for a ground rule double. On the next pitch, third baseman Walden would be hit on the hand in an extremely costly play for Lady Waves. Walden has not returned since the Webb game, and is listed as day to day. With two on base, Moree would get a big hit when she drove the ball up the middle to score Narramore. Borum scored Walden with a nice single. After a Midway strikeout, Coffman sent a blast to the right field fence, scoring Moree and Borum. Rue would lay into a change-up pitch and send it to left field to score Coffman. Colyer would single to score Rue. The damage was done, and the game was in Green hands with an 8-0 lead. Two ground outs to Narramore at second and one ground out to Alexander at first would end a great effort by the Lady Waves team.
Knox Webb is a very good team. They have played very well against the Knoxville teams. When these teams see in the News Sentinel that a little Single A team has put an 8-0 thumping on Knox Webb, they will have to take notice. These Midway girls continue to gain recognition. But this huge win was not without cost. The broken finger of Walden was the worst. Rue jammed her hip on a hard slide, and Colyer went down hard on a fall at first base. Thankfully, both of those girls were okay. Good Luck to the Lady Waves in the post season.