District 7-A Tournament play begins this week for both squads

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was published in print prior to action taking place Monday and Tuesday night, where Bulldog Baseball fell to Jackson County 7-6 and Lady Bulldog Softball beat Red Boiling Springs 17-0 and Cookeville 8-6, all after HORIZON press time.

CELINA-Both the Clay County High School softball and baseball teams won their Senior Night contests last week, ahead of their respective District 7-A Tournaments getting underway this week.

The Bulldogs beat Trousdale County 6-4, following seniors Nate and Hayden Adams being honored last Wednesday night, and the Lady Bulldogs handed Westmoreland a 4-3 defeat the next evening, after seniors Jaid Walker and Monica Cisneros were recognized.

The Dawgs then fell 14-4 at Macon County on Thursday to head into this week’s action with an overall mark of 8-13.

They were set to face Jackson County Monday night in their regular-season finale, before opening tournament play in Gordonsville Thursday at 4:30 p.m. as the #2 seed in a rematch with #3 Pickett County, who Clay County had already beaten twice this season.

Prior to their big win over Westmoreland, the Lady Dawgs shut out Pickett County 16-0 and had won four straight to get to 14-8 overall heading into a Monday matchup at Red Boiling Springs.

They were also set to battle Cookeville at home Tuesday, before their district tournament opener here Wednesday versus Clarkrange, where the #2 seed Clay County girls were scheduled to host the #3 seed Lady Buffaloes at 5:30 p.m.

With a win over Clarkrange, the Lady Dawgs are likely to face #1 seed Gordonsville, who was set to take on the Red Boiling Springs/Pickett County play-in game winner.

The same would hold true for the Bulldogs, as a win over the Bobcats is expected to match them with the #1 seed Gordonsville Tigers.

Both the softball and baseball tournaments will follow a double-elimination format, therefore no matter the results of their first postseason action, both Clay County teams are guaranteed another game.

Follow the Dale Hollow Horizon Facebook page for updates on both teams’ tournament action as it takes place, and also for a live-stream broadcast of Wednesday night’s postseason contest between the Lady Dawgs and Lady Buffaloes.

Top performers

The Lady Dawgs were led by junior Baylor Walden in their win over Westmoreland, as she pitched a whopping 17 strikeouts in the victory, while her classmate Reagan Cherry and sophomores Emma Wix and Haylen Garrison all had two hits in the victory.

Freshman Riley Baxter threw a no hitter in the Pickett County shutout, where she, Walden, Cherry, Wix, Walker, and freshman Lila Birdwell all had hits.

Junior Aiden Keen drove home the deciding two runs with an RBI double in the third inning of the Dawgs’ win over Trousdale County, his classmate Nolan Adams pitched six solid innings, and fellow junior Witt Kaslikowski took the mound to close out the win over the Yellow Jackets in the seventh inning.

Seniors Nate and Hayden Adams also both had hits and scored runs in the victory.

Junior Reece Adams then went two for three in the Macon County loss and stroked a three-run home run, while Nolan Adams and junior Brady Dailey, along with sophomore Kale Troubaugh, also had hits.