Walden stays hot with third postseason home run

GORDONSVILLE-Clay County Lady Bulldog Softball earned their third-straight District 7-A Runner-up trophy here Wednesday night, after going toe-to-toe with perennial power Gordonsville (31-1).

Clay County (18-10) will now travel to District 8-A Champion Jo Byrns Monday for a 6 p.m. Region 4-A Semifinal to try to advance to the State Sectional round for only the second time in program history.

The Lady Dawgs jumped on the two-time defending State Champion Tigerettes early, as junior Baylor Walden hit her third postseason bomb and eighth home run of the season in her first at bat against University of Tennessee commit Kailey Plumlee.

ON A TEAR-Junior Lady Dawg Baylor Walden hit her third postseason home run and eighth of the season in the District 7-A Championship game, which improved her team-leading batting average to .451 and ran her RBI total to 31 on the year. (CCHS media photo)

The opposite-field long ball jumpstarted Clay County and they carried a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the first inning, where Plumlee and her teammates provided an immediate answer.

The scoreboard quickly changed to 5-1 in Gordonsville favor, as Plumlee stroked a two-run blast of her own to centerfield and the Tigerettes used an RBI double, along with another two-run home run, to claim a four-run advantage.

A scoreless inning followed, as both Walden and Plumlee found their grooves in the circle, before the Clay County pitcher yielded another solo shot in the third, which upped the Gordonsville margin to 6-1.

The tally remained the same through the fourth inning, and the Lady Dawgs had a chance to slice into the Tigerette lead in the fifth.

Freshman Lila Birdwell was hit by a pitch and sophomore Emma Wix laid down a perfect bunt-single.

But they were both left stranded on base, Gordonsville added another run in the bottom of the same inning, and Plumlee held Clay County scoreless the rest of the way to secure another Tigerette District 7-A Championship with the 7-1 victory.

Follow the Dale Hollow Horizon Facebook page for more on the Lady Dawgs’ upcoming trip to Jo Byrns, where Clay County will square off with the Lady Red Devils a third year in a row with a shot at playing for a region title and earning a State Sectional berth on the line.