Game Results: W 7-6
Game Recap
Seeded fifth Cleveland State softball opened the TCCAA Region VII NJCAA Tournament on Sunday May 8 with a thrilling 7-6 nine inning win over number four seed Dyersburg State. Bailee Phillips went the distance winning her 11th game of the year and helped her own cause going 3-for-5 at the plate driving in two runs.
Makala Strickland who joined Phillips with three hits of her own in the Cougar's 15 hit attack started Cleveland State's scoring in the first inning plating Carlynn Atamaniuk who had reached on an infield single and stole second. One batter later Phillips chased home Strickland giving the Cougars a 2-0 lead.
Dyersburg knotted the score at two in the third inning and at three in the fifth following a top of the fifth inning homerun off the bat of Strickland, her 18th of the season. The seventh inning saw each team answer each other with three runs as in the top of the inning Phillips drove in a run and Madison Miner doubled home two for a short lived three run lead.
In the ninth inning Emily Higgins lashed one of her three hits to drive in the lead and final run of the 7-6 Cougar win. Other notable hits on the day were two each by Atamaniuk and Miner with Sullivan and Sarah Morris chipping in with one each.
What's Next
The Cougars next tournament game is set to be played at 10 a.m. on Tuesday May 10. They await the winner of the Motlow State vs Chattanooga game that is scheduled to be played on Monday May 9. The tournament is being played on the campus of Chattanooga State.
