Taylor Barnes
An overflow crowd at Coffee County on Wednesday night was treated to a 3 and a half hour, 12 inning thriller as Siegel stunned the Lady Raiders 3-1 in the Region 4AAA final. Coffee County’s Brianna Jones and Siegel’s Veronica Westfall combined for 35 strikeouts on the night as offensive opportunities were rare. Both pitchers were masterful as the 2 teams were held to 6 hits through the first 7 innings of play forcing extra innings. The drama intensified in the 10th inning as the international tie-breaker rules took effect. This rule placed a runner on second base to begin in inning. Siegel scored the first run of the night in the top of the 10th as Jordee Cothran scored on a fielder’s choice. Not to be deterred, Taylor Barnes led off the bottom of the 10th as shs laced an RBI single to left field to score Clare Spellings and tie the score at one. The Lady Raiders loaded the bases in the 11th only to see Westfall pitch out of the one out jam. In the top of the 12th, the Lady Stars were able to string together 3 hits to plate 2 runs and Westfall ended the game by notching her 18th and 19th strikeouts of the night. Rhianna Roberson of Coffee County finished the night going 2 for 2 and reaching base via a hit batter. With her RBI single, Taylor Barnes was named the Gateway Tire and Service Center Player of the Game. Despite the loss, Coffee County will finish as the runner up in Region 4AAA and will to Ooltewah on Friday night for a 7:00 PM(EDT) sectional match up with the Owls. A win in the sectional will earn the Lady Raiders their 3rd straight tournament berth in the last 4 years. Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast with Lucky Knott on the call. The pregame show will begin at 5:50 PM local time on Thunder Radio.
