Lionettes clutch when it counts

By TONY STINNETT, Courier Sports Editor

Macy Williams delivered in the clutch as the Lionettes’ softball team held off visiting Eagleville, 5-4, in front of the student body Monday (March 31.)

With the game tied, 4-4, the Lionettes (10-7) sent their partisan fans home happy. Sarah Hunt started the sixth with a single and reached second on an error.

Williams them stepped to the plate and delivered her second hit of the day to score Hunt with what proved to be the game-winning run.

“It was a great atmosphere with the student body at the game and it was a good comeback for our team,” said Cannon County Head Coach Dorinda Walker. “Eagleville is a good-hitting team. We knew it would not be an easy game.”

Williams was one of three players with a multi-hit game for the Lionettes.

Livia Walker continued her torrid sophomore campaign. She was 2-for-4 with a triple, double, three RBI and one run scored. Walker is hitting .489 with 14 RBI, 15 runs scored, one home run, four triples and five doubles - all team highs.

Macy Clements was 2-for-4 with one RBI. The Lionettes pounded out 12 hits as a team.

Cannon County junior pitcher Kristen Hale went the distance. She scattered seven hits, allowed four runs, three earned, and struck out eight to earn the win.

She consistently pitched ahead in the count, throwing first-pitch strikes to 21 of the 32 batters she faced.
“(Hale) has been consistent and she was getting ahead of hitters and controlling the game, especially in the early innings,” Coach Walker said.

Cannon County appeared to be in cruise control through the first half of the game. The Lionettes got on the scoreboard first with two runs in the bottom of the third to take a 2-0 lead. They stretched it to 4-0 with two more runs in the fourth.

Williams singled with one out inthe third and came around to score the game’s first run on Livia Walker’s triple. Walker later scored on Clements’ groundout to push the lead to 2-0.

The top of the order proved to be potent for the Lionettes again in the fourth. With one on and one out, Williams singled. She stole second to put runners at second and third for Walker, who belted a double into right center to drive in two more runs and provide what seemed to be a comfortable 4-0 lead at the time.

Perhaps the Lionettes decided the paying students deserved a more competitive game.

Suddenly, Eagleville came off of the deck with a three-spot in the top of the fifth to pull to within 4-3 and get the Lionettes’ attention.

They tied the score, 4-4, with a run in the top of the sixth, but Cannon County scored the winning run in the bottom of the inning, and Hale closed the door in the seventh inning as the Lionettes secured the non-district win.
The week did not end on a good note.

The Lionettes were 1-3 in the Macon County Tournament during the weekend. They beat White County, 5-2, in a pool game as Sarah Hunt earned the win.

Williams, Walker and Cheyenne Fann each had one hit to account for the team’s three hits in the game. Hunt pitched into the fifth inning, allowing two runs, both unearned.

The Lionettes suffered pool play losses against Gordonsville, 3-0, and Portland, 5-1. They suffered a 1-0 setback against Macon County in the single-elimination portion of the bracket.
“It was a tough weekend,” Coach Walker said. “We didn’t hit well and we made too many mistakes. In our three losses we scored a total of one run.”
The Lionettes face Central Magnet and Smith County in District 8-AA action this week.