After losing both games in the opening week of the 2021 season, the Lady Pounders were anxious to get back out on the diamond and get their first win of the season.

On Monday, March 22, Central faced off against the Grace Baptist Academy Golden Eagles. This game was originally set to be played on March 16, but it was postponed due to heavy rain earlier in the day. Junior Calli Morgan started off on the bump for the Lady Pounders. In the top of the first inning, Morgan quickly shut down the Golden Eagles’ offense, and in the bottom, the Lady Pounders brought across three. Heading into the second inning with a 3-0 lead, the Lady Pounders kept their foot on the gas. Morgan pitched exceptionally well for Central, earning a complete game win. When it was all said and done, she threw a total of 129 pitches and did not allow a run until the sixth inning. With a solid offense and pitching, the Lady Pounders came out on top by a score of 5-3.

With the first win of the season out of the way, the Lady Pounders are taking it one game at a time, hoping to morph into a cohesive unit and to fire on all cylinders heading into the District Tournament on May 6.

“I believe that the team has been growing with communication and effort throughout the past few games,” said Senior Kassy Griffith, infielder. “We give it our all and don’t let the negatives or mistakes dictate our next move.”

The following day, the Lady Pounders hosted their district rival, the East Ridge Lady Pioneers. Once again, Junior Calli Morgan had a stellar pitching performance. Morgan struck out seven of the Lady Pioneers and only walked two. The standout pitching was backed up by Central’s offense. The 2-3-4-5 of the Central lineup produced much of the damage. The two hole hitting Karleigh Schwarzl scored three times and the three hole hitting Calli Morgan scored twice and racked up two hits. Junior Ashlyn Wood, catcher, hit cleanup and was hit by a pitch, walking her. She was followed up by Kassy Griffith, who had three hits and scored twice. In the end, the Pounders got the win, 11-8.

Thursday’s district game against the Howard Hustlin’ Lady Tigers was postponed due to inclement weather, the make-up date will be announced in the coming days.

On Friday, March 26, Central went on the road in hopes of adding onto their win streak as they battled it out with the Lookout Valley Yellowjackets. Central struggled with both the defensive and offensive aspects of this game. Calli Morgan started the game pitching, but she was replaced with Mikiah Tate in the second inning. Tate could not find her groove, and the Central bats could not muster any support. After seven innings, the Lady Pounders suffered a 11-1 loss. 

This week, on March 29, the Lady Pounders will rematch Grace Baptist Academy. The next day, Central will play district foe, Tyner. To finish off the week, on Thursday, the Lady Pounders will duke it out with the Boyd Buchanan Buccaneers.