Lady Bulldogs fall to West in District clash
Bearden High School has endured its share of struggles on the softball diamond this season.
The Lady Bulldogs had a tough go of things last week in a 6-1 loss to geographical and one-time District 4-4A rival Knoxville West.
Bearden’s bats were largely held at bay on Wednesday, March 25, at BHS’s Kim Hazelwood Field as the Lady Bulldogs struggled to solve the pitch of West High ace pitcher Brooke Weaver.
Weaver, who pitched a complete game, going seven innings, gave up one earned run in the bottom of the seventh. She also yielded five hits and two walks. She struck out seven in the contest.
The two teams were locked in a scoreless tie in the top of the third inning until Weaver, who was so dominant in the pitcher’s circle, made some big noise with her bat as she clubbed a three-run home run over the left-field fence.
The Lady Rebels added two more runs in the top of the fourth frame as Ava Humphreys and Mia Beeler each came up with an RBI single.
They would extend their advantage to 6-0 when they scored a run in the top of the sixth on an RBI single by Claire Davenport.
While the Lady Bulldogs endured their struggles, West had no such problems. The Lady Rebels pounded out 10 hits in the contest.
“This was a great effort and a big win for us,” Lady Rebels’ coach Brandy Weaver said. “We hit the ball well and we played good defense, and the pitching was good too.
“I’m so proud of these kids.”
The Lady Bulldogs scored their lone run of the contest in their last at-bat when a sacrifice fly by Ada Daniels that plated Makhia Nickerson, who singled to lead off the frame.
Bearden coach Alicia Boris said her team struggled against Brooke Weaver.
“We waited too long to make adjustments,” Boris said. “We started making adjustments in the fifth, but we’ve got to be quicker.
“Sometimes, you try to do too much and you just have to get back to fundamentals.”
