| RHS softball shuts out Knoxville Central |
By: By JOSH EZZELL - May 22, 2007 - 12:11 a.m.
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For a moment Riverdale saw its softball season go up in smoke Tuesday night at Star*Plex in the BlueCross Spring Fling.
Junior pitcher Cat Hosfield, a University of Tennessee commitment, rolled her right ankle warming up prior to the bottom of the third inning. She fell to the ground in pain, and the Riverdale faithful saw its heart leap into its throat.
Hosfield, however, played through the pain and led Riverdale to a 5-0 win over Knoxville Central in the Lady Warriors' first state tournament game in school history.
Riverdale (49-4-1) plays Mt. Juliet 11:30 a.m. today at McKnight No. 4. The Lady Warriors are 1-2 against Mt. Juliet this season. Mt. Juliet won the previous meeting 3-2 on April 28. Mt. Juliet beat Riverdale 1-0 March 31, while Riverdale won 2-1 on March 16.
"Anytime you stay in the winners' bracket it's big," said Riverdale coach Jeff Breeden, who coached Coffee County to the state tournament in 1999 and 2000. "We ought to have motivation because (Mt. Juliet) beat us last time."
Hosfield (43-3) responded to the incident by striking out the side in the third inning. She struck out 13 and is in fifth place for the single-season high school strikeout record with 618 strikeouts for the season. She allowed three hits and walked three.
"It was a big game for us," Hosfield said. "We need to play (Mt. Juliet)."
Hosfield helped herself at the plate in the third inning with a two-RBI, two-out single to right field that scored right fielder Alice O'Brien, who singled, and shortstop Kelsey Woodruff, who walked.
"That gave us a chance to win," Hosfield said of the hit. "It got the crowd up."
Riverdale added three runs in the fifth inning courtesy of small ball and a Lady Bobcat error. Left fielder Kelsey Choate, who went 2-for-4, led off the frame with a bunt single, and Woodruff followed with a bunt single. They scored when catcher Alexis Tirado made a bad throw to first following an Ashia Terry strikeout.
A good throw would've provided the third out. Instead, the next batter, first baseman Jessica Ayers, scored Terry with an RBI single to center field.
"We struggled with strikeouts at first," Choate said. "We had to move up in the box a little bit."
Knoxville Central pitcher Kandice Irwin struck out 12, surrendered 10 hits and walked three. |
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