By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–Anna Lynn Cheatham transformed herself from slugger to ace pitcher to help Union City bring home the regional softball championship.
Backed by stellar defense, Cheatham tossed a one-hitter and the Lady Tornadoes played small-ball for a pair of runs to win 2-0 at Halls and claim the 7A Tournament title Wednesday.
UC’s fifth straight victory and 20th of the season secured home-field rights for Friday’s sectional game against Memphis Middle College. The winner moves on to the Spring Fling and the Class 1A state tournament that begins Tuesday in Murfreesboro.
Game time for Friday’s contest at Eddlemon-Hawks Field will be announced later today.
Wednesday’s news was not as joyful for the Union City girls’ tennis squad, which saw its team season end at the hands of Madison Academic Magnet School in a bitter 4-3 defeat at the Middle School courts.
The marathon competition lasted nearly five hours – a 30-minute break between singles and doubles play not included.
Annie Wade and Molly Kizer recorded singles victories in the match, and the state-bound doubles tandem of Wade and Shelby Bondurant forged a 3-all tie late into the night with a victory before MAMS won the final match behind its own state doubles duo of Mitzi Castro and Sarah Wilson, 8-4.
Wade and Bondurant will still represent the Purple and Gold at next week’s state tourney, their quarterfinals doubles match against Watertown’s Blake Griffin and Summer Sesnan set for Thursday morning at 9 o’clock.
The following is a recap of Wednesday’s action:
HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL
UC 2, Halls 0
Cheatham, who’d swung the hottest of the Lady Tornado bats during a torrid four-game spell leading into Wednesday’s game, turned star hurler against the homestanding Lady Tigers.
She did not allow a hit until there were two outs in the bottom of the seventh when Haley Gamblin reached out and guided a Cheatham change-up into shallow leftfield for Halls’ only safety of the game.
Cheatham then retired the final hitter via strikeout – her sixth of the contest – to notch her eighth win.
She was aided by a number of fine defensive plays and pitched her way out of a couple of jams – including a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the fourth. Halls stranded seven runners in all.
“Our pitching and defense got it done tonight,” UC head coach J.B. Suiter said afterward. “Our kids stepped up and made some big plays in crucial situations.
“Offensively, we were able to execute our small game to push some across some runs. It was truly a team win.”
UC got the only run Cheatham would need in the first, then pushed across an insurance tally in the seventh.
Marlee Theobald doubled to lead off the second, was bunted to third by Bayleigh Long and scored on a sacrifice bunt by Emmaline Qualls.
In the seventh, Kaitlyn Lamb singled, moved to second on an error and to third base on Lainey Barker’s bunt. Lamb then scampered home on Sophie Theobald’s bunt back to the mound.
“We are glad to take home the region plaque, but we are even more excited about the opportunity to host a sectional game on Friday in front of our home crowd,” Suiter added.
Cheatham, Sophie Theobald and Avery Decker were named to the All-Region team in ceremonies after the contest.
HIGH SCHOOL TENNIS
Madison 4, UC 3
There was truly little difference between the evenly matched teams that ended up in favor of the Jackson school.
Wade blitzed Carley Ingram 6-1, 6-0 at the No. 3 singles seed for one UC win. Freshman Molly Kizer accounted for another, making a stirring comeback in her singles match to claim a 2-6, 6-0, 6-3 victory. After dropping the first set, Kizer posted a shutout in the second to draw even, then rallied from a 3-1 deficit to take the deciding set.
And the team of Wade and Bondurant gave UC late hope by beating Leigh Baldwin and Carley Ingram 8-3 before Madison turned back the efforts of Kizer and Mimi Jenkins in the last match of the long day/night.
Easily the longest and most physically and mentally draining match of the day came when Gracyn Callicott and Castro battled for over three-and-a-half hours before the latter prevailed 7-6, 5-7, 6-4.
With similar styles, the two sometimes pounded and sometimes lobbed steady groundstrokes at each other before Castro – who suffered leg cramps in the second set and needed an injury timeout – finally prevailed.
Bondurant fell to Baldwin at the No. 1 singles spot, 3-6, 0-6, and the Lady Mustangs also got another point at the five-seed when Mitchell beat Erin Gill 6-2, 6-1.
Union City head coach Tom Sisco was proud of his troops, but philosophical afterward.
“In postseason play, singles matches dictate the outcome in most matches,” he said. “If you can’t clinch with four wins, it’s imperative that you enter your doubles matches ahead. We didn’t and winning twice in doubles was just too big a wall to climb.
“Annie pulled us even with some outstanding play in her match and Molly dug deep after losing the first set and showed great grit and determination in winning her match to get us even at 2. Annie and Shelby dominated their doubles match, but in the end, Wilson and Castro showed why they qualified for the state doubles. Molly and Mimi played well, but unforced errors and doubles faults at inopportune times caught up with us. Plus, Castro – just like in her singles match against Gracyn – got to everything hit her way.
“The girls set a goal to not only get to state but challenge for a title. Naturally, they’re disappointed. Coach (Monty) Mooney and I told them after the match they had nothing to hang their heads over, though, because they had a great season had advanced to another sectional match. Not many teams are able to accomplish that year after year.”
The Lady Tornadoes finished the season with a 17-7 record.