Lady Waves host, pick up two wins in TSOA Tournament
By Zach Greenwell The Meade County Lady Wave softball team (3-3) hosted the TSOA softball tournament on March 31-April 1, and went 2-1 in round robin play before being eliminated in the first round of the tournament bracket. Tippecanoe 2, Meade 1 Meade competed in a thriller in their first game of the tournament on March 31 as the Lady Waves took on Tippecanoe, an out-of-state team from Ohio. The game proved to be a defensive showcase by both squads as each team had big efforts to keep runs off the board. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Tippecanoe’s Locker was able to reach third base with no outs. Meade pitcher Sarah Millay followed with a wild pitch to the next batter. However, catcher Katie Straney ran down the ball and relayed it to Millay, who was covering home plate and tagged out Locker to save the run. “We were really able to stay strong throughout the whole game,” said Millay. “We showed great focus to keep them off the board.” “I think one thing the team improved on throughout the tournament was defense,” said head coach Mike Harreld. “Our fielding has gotten a lot stronger and we are much more capable of containing scoring.” Later in the bottom of the sixth, the Lady Waves were once again able to save a run with runners on first and third as junior Cassie Durham completed a tag-out double play on a grounder to second that ended the inning. Tippecanoe kept Meade from capitalizing on any offense in the top of the seventh inning. After Durham led off the inning with a double to left center for the Lady Waves, Locker notched two of her 13 strikeouts and a groundout that stranded Durham at second. The game eventually headed to extra innings with no runs on the board. The Lady Waves started the top of the eighth with third basemen Anna Medley, who made the final out of the last inning, at second, as is standard rules for softball tiebreakers. After Straney sacrificed Medley to third, the senior was able to score on a wild pitch, giving Meade a 1-0 lead. However it was not meant to be for the Lady Waves, as Tippecanoe found themselves with the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the eighth. After Tippecanoe’s Baker scored on a wild pitch, a one-out double to left center would score the winning run, as the Lady Waves were defeated 2-1. Despite the loss, Meade senior Sarah Millay had a very solid pitching effort, totaling nine strikeouts in eight innings. “I feel that my pitching is starting to come around,” said Millay. “I threw harder and feel like I am able to do more on the mound.” Meade 7, Sacred Heart 2 Meade’s victory over Sacred Heart was never in question in their second game of the tournament on April 1 as the Lady Waves jumped to a 3-0 lead in the top of the third inning and never looked back on their way to a 7-2 win. After the Valkyries posted two runs to send the score to 4-2, the Lady Waves put a cap on the game with another three-run inning in the top of the sixth. After Straney scored on an errant throw to third base, Millay finished the offensive showing with an inside-the-park home run that scored sophomore Katie Hodson. Hodson went 2-2 in the game with a double, triple and RBI, while Millay was 2-3 with a single, home run and two RBIs. Senior Kristie Allen was 2-3 with an RBI, and also pitched five innings with three strikeouts for the win. Meade 8, Bishop Brossart 0 It was Millay who started the Lady Waves third game of the tournament against Bishop Brossart, but it was definitely sophomore Lori Fox who finished it. Fox pitched six innings with eight strikeouts in Meade’s 8-0 win, earning the victory in her first varsity game at pitcher. “I was definitely a little nervous,” said Fox. “It was my first game, but I had my team to back me up and I think it went really well.” “When we started the season, our pitching was not very good, but it has really come around in this tournament,” said Harreld. “They are keeping the ball low, and we are getting a lot out of them with each outing.” Medley began the scoring for the Lady Waves in the top of the first, knocking a triple that scored Durham and senior Erica Whelan. The senior reached base in all four of her at bats, and also scored later in the six inning on a single by Fox, who went 2-3. The Lady Waves added their last two runs in the seventh when freshman Kayla Ross scored on a single by freshman Amanda Smith, and fellow freshman Kirstie Maloney later scored on a wild pitch. Henderson 6, Meade 3 The Lady Waves couldn’t get their bats going in their fourth and final game of the tournament as the Henderson County pitching staff tallied 16 strikeouts in their 6-3 win. Meade took an early lead in the second inning when Straney reached base on a bunt single and later scored on an error, but Henderson posted five runs in the top of the fifth on four extra-base hits. Henderson later extended the lead to 6-1 in the sixth. Meade mounted a small comeback in the bottom of the seventh inning, when Fox singled with runners on first and third to score Whelan. After Fox advanced to second base, Medley stole home to pull the Lady Waves within three runs. However, Katie Hodson struck out following Medley’s steal to strand Fox at third and end the game. Sixteen teams competed in the TSOA tournament, with Grayson County taking the title after a 10-3 victory over North Hardin. “I think the tournament went really well,” said Harreld. “There were a lot of strong teams out here and there was some outstanding pitching on display during both days.” The tournament was almost called off Friday due to rain. It was an exceptional effort by the Meade-Olin grounds crew that made the event possible, according to Harreld. “I think all of these guys (Todd Clanton, Dennis Nevitt, Dougy Nevitt, Casey Dawson, and Brad Stout) did an outstanding job of getting us ready to play,” said Harreld. “This tournament is very important to us because it is a big moneymaker for us and one of our largest fundraisers, and we owe a lot to them for getting everything ready for us on Friday.” The Lady Waves will next be in action at Pleasure Ridge Park April 10. The JV squad will compete at the Breckinridge JV Tournament April 7-8.
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Photo by Zach Greenwell