Westview falls short of Maddie 3-peat bid

Posted: Wednesday, April 25, 2012 12:00 pm

Westview came up short in its quest to win the Maddie Memorial Tournament for third consecutive year over the weekend, losing to Dyersburg 5-2 in the semifinals in the single elimination action.
Playing in their fourth straight game of the day on Saturday, the Lady Chargers gave up four runs to the Lady Trojans in the second inning, even with Meagan Prince in the pitching circle.
Although Prince was able to keep the ball down in the strike zone and force the Lady Trojans into hitting ground balls, it was miscues by the defense that allowed Dyersburg to string together six consecutive hits.
Lady Chargers head coach Jessica Hightower attributed the four-run second inning to mental fatigue with the defense.
“If we had to have a bad inning, that was the bad inning of the entire tournament,” Hightower said. “This game, you could definitely tell that mental fatigue had set in. After playing four games today (Saturday), that is not too surprising.”
An RBI single by Holly Morris cut the lead to two in the bottom of the second, but the Lady Chargers could not mount a comeback against Dyersburg.
Prince struck out eight to give her a total of 48 strikeouts in her five games of pitching in the tournament. She struck out 22 batters against Crockett County on Friday to set a new single-game record for Westview.
Shaylon Robb held the previous record with 17 strikeouts. Prince also broke the tournament record with her performance against Crockett County.
“That is the one thing; we have had to kind of rely on Meagan,” Hightower said. “I do not want to say that she carried the team but, whenever you are the pitcher, you are involved in every play. This was very personal for Meagan. She and Madison were very good friends. They had a very special bond. She is what you would call very stoic. She does not show her emotions on the mound.”
South Fulton won the Maddie Memorial Tournament by beating Dyersburg in the tournament final by a final score of 5-4. The Lady Red Devils went undefeated in seven games.
Westview went 4-2 in the tournament. The Lady Chargers beat Crockett County 4-2 in a game that counted in District 13AA, lost to Trenton Peabody 5-1 and beat St. Agnes 6-2 in pool play.
Westview beat East Lawrence, Alabama 2-0 and Camden 2-1 before bowing out to Dyersburg in the single elimination play.
Westview 3, D’burg 2
A sixth inning solo home run by Kayla Bryant lifted the Lady Chargers to a big win Thursday afternoon and gave Westview some momentum going into the Maddie Memorial Tournament on Friday.
The home run was her second of the season. She hit her first home run exactly a week earlier to give Westview a 1-0 win over Huntingdon.
Bryant went 2-for-3 in the game with a pair of RBIs. Hailey Coleman and Prince each had a double for Westview. Prince also had a pair of RBIs.
Prince got the win and struck out 15 batters. Dyersburg only got six hits off the left-handed throwing pitcher.
Westview 4, Crockett 2
The Lady Chargers only got four hits, but they used them to score four runs and that was more than enough for Westview’s ace on the mound to begin pool play in the Maddie Memorial Tournament.
Prince recorded 22 strikeouts and pitched a one-hitter against Westview’s district rival.
Alex Hughey and Prince each had an RBI for the Lady Chargers. Kayla Guthrie had one base hit and Brooke Morrow had a double for Westview.
Trenton 5, Westview 1
The Lady Chargers could not get their offense going against Trenton in the second game of pool play Friday night.
Bryant drove in Guthrie for Westview’s only run in the top of third inning.
Becca Ussery allowed all five runs on eight hits in 2.1 innings of pitching. She walked two and struck out one.
Holly Morris and Alex Crosser each had a hit for Westview.
Westview 6, St. Agnes 2
The Lady Chargers got their offense clicking in their final game of pool play Saturday morning with the six runs scored on 10 hits.
Crosser went 2-for-2 with a triple and also drove in a pair of runs. Morris went 2-for-3 with a triple and a double. She also had one RBI.
Prince went the distance and collected 12 strikeouts while allowing only a pair of hits.
Westview 2, E. Law. 0
Prince pitched a one-hit shutout while striking out nine East Lawrence hitters to put the Lady Chargers in the second round of the single elimination tournament.
Guthrie and Morris each went 2-for-2 for the Westview with Morris getting one RBI.
Westview scored in the first and fourth innings, while the defense backed up Prince throughout the game.
Westview 2, Camden 1
Prince held off a late Camden rally in the first round of the single elimination of the Maddie Memorial Tournament Saturday as the game went into overtime after the 70-minute time limit expired.
The Lady Chargers scored what would eventually be the winning run when Crosser scored from third on a hard-hit ball by Morris to Camden’s second baseman, who threw to home in an attempt to keep Westview from scoring.
Prince, pitching in her third game of the day, got the win. She struck out seven and allowed four hits. Published in The WCP 4.24.12