The Union City High School Lady Tornadoes softball team claimed the district championship on Friday.
School Communications Director Mike Hutchens said the Lady Tornadoes (13-10) rebounded from a tough 6-3 Game 1 loss vs. Ripley to beat the regular-season league champions for the second time in their last three meetings and make history.
“How you bounce back from adversity truly shows what you are as a team, and we answered the bell – both from that first game today and from the rough patch we had early in the year,” said head coach Stevie Gossett, whose team has gone 12-4 since a tough 1-6 start. “It was awesome to see the fight in these girls.”
The title-clinching win resembled the Lady Tornadoes’ semifinal victory over Ripley four nights earlier. Union City worked 14 walks from a trio of Lady Tiger pitchers – creating constant traffic on the base paths – and came up with a handful of timely hits to build a big lead, fight off a rally, and finally put away the host team.
Mattie Smith, one of three seniors on the team, was a true warrior for the Twister girls.
Smith went 4-for-5 with six RBIs, twice lacing doubles that brought home multiple runs in big innings. She also re-entered the game in the circle in the third frame after Addison Carr got four outs, and worked the last 5 2/3 frames, several times escaping trouble spots after Ripley had closed the gap and shaking off a line drive that hit her squarely on the knee.
Kylee McClure went 2-for-4 and scored four runs to serve as a perfect table-setter atop the UC lineup. Hadley Smith and Averi Riley each drove in a pair of runs, while Carr tallied three times. Maddie Steward and Kylie Mayes scored twice apiece for the winners.
Eight of the nine batters in the Lady Tornado order collected at least one hit.
Union City got off the deck after suffering a bitter defeat in Game 1 when JaHailey Bonds cracked a 3-run homer – her second of the game – in the top of the seventh that broke a 3-all tie.
“The grit of everybody – from our players to our coaches – was just absolutely fantastic,” insisted Gossett, who won his first district championship in five seasons with the program.
The Lady Tornadoes led 3-2 from the third inning until the fifth when Ripley knotted the count.
McClure went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored, while Mattie Smith drove in a pair of runs. Hadley Smith had two hits in three at-bats, and Carr stroked a double, scored, and had an RBI.
Mattie Smith, who threw 193 pitches in the two games, went the distance in the circle.
Several Lady Tornadoes were recognized in postgame ceremonies, with Carr, McClure, Mattie Smith, and Annalece Morton chosen for the all-tournament team. Smith, Carr, Mayes, and McClure earned all-district honors for their regular-season play, while Carr earned a spot on the all-academic squad.
(photo: Mike Hutchens – School Communications Director)
