Claiborne Gets By Lady Devils Late In 5-3 Loss

Greeneville controlled the scoreboard for most of the contest, but a four-run sixth inning doomed the Lady Devils as Claiborne climbed from behind to grab a 5-3 victory on the road.

“We did not adjust to their pitcher very well and we continued to give away outs and unearned runs,” Greeneville Head Coach Matt Million stated. “It’s bit us all year and it bit us tonight.”

The story of the game for the Lady Devils was leaving too many runners on base. Nine total batters were left stranded and Greeneville could only muster three runs on ten hits.

The pitching from Leah Phillips was solid and the hitting of Kyla Jobe was exceptional. Phillips struck out nine batters in seven innings and Jobe collected three-hits including a bomb over the centerfield wall.

Even though Greeneville held the advantage for most of the game, the Lady Bulldogs wasted no time collecting bases. Hannah Fugate battled in a five-pitch at-bat that resulted in a triple for the lead-off batter. Emma Myatt was hit with a pitch to put two runners aboard and advanced into scoring position with a steal of second base.

Leah Phillips stood her ground on the rubber and saved the inning with two-straight strikeouts to hold the Lady Bulldogs scoreless.

“Leah is a rock for us. We had one rough inning right there and we could’ve helped her out defensively a little bit. But Leah did really well all night,” Coach Million said.

Kyla Jobe stepped up to the plate first for Greeneville and instantly made a statement with a stand-up double into left field. Madison Carpenter followed that up with an RBI-Double to score Jobe from second.

The Lady Devils took a 1-0 lead after the first.

Another dominant inning in the circle for Phillips resulted in three-straight outs. She tallied five strikeouts through the first two innings.

Greeneville also fell to three consecutive outs in the bottom half. Marley Sweet ended the inning with back-to-back strikeouts.

A wild sequence by Claiborne in the third inning tied the game at 1-1.

Fugate reached base on an error and advanced to third after Jayden Pressnell slapped a fly ball off the center field fence. Myatt struck out for the second out, but that was only the start.

Carpenter attempted to pick Fugate off at third base, but the ball slipped under Jones’s glove at third. Fugate would run home to score a run.

The relay home would be off-the-mark, but Carpenter’s throw to third would not. The catcher made up for the previous error with a throw back to third to catch Pressnell trying to advance.

Greeneville would fight back to regain the lead in the bottom half of the frame.

Jobe set the Lady Devils up with another scoring opportunity on a hard-hit grounder through the left side of the infield. Her base-running skills came in handy with a steal of second base.

Lydia Darnell provided the hit that broke the tie between both teams. She battled with Sweet on an eight-pitch at-bat that paid off with an RBI-Double to push Jobe across.

Neither team could put any runs on the board in the fourth. Claiborne fell on three-straight outs. The Lady Devils left two stranded on the corners, but couldn’t manage to plate any runs.

Both pitchers continued dueling and didn’t allow a single hit in the fifth. Phillips accounted for eight strikeouts up to this point while Sweet had five.

Claiborne’s breakthrough inning came in the sixth with a four-run frame that turned out to be the difference in the game.

Hannah Fugate earned a base-hit single on the first pitch she saw. Jayden Pressnell singled next to put two aboard.

Emma Myatt endured an eleven-pitch duel with Phillips before driving in two runs. She tried advancing to third base, but a great throw by Baylee Ramsey punched the runner out.

Maddie Lynch and Jaycee Ferguson delivered a pair of singles to put two more runners on base. The Lady Bulldogs strung together five-straight hits. Alley Jones laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners.

Kinley Mullins put two more runs on the board with a two-out single.

The Lady Bulldogs assumed a 5-2 lead in the sixth inning.

Greeneville loaded the bases in the bottom half, but left three more runners stranded and couldn’t put up any runs.

The Lady Devils went into the bottom of the seventh still trailing by three runs, but gained the spark they needed right away. Kyla Jobe lifted off with a line-drive home run to lead off the frame.

“She’s one of the best players in the area. Probably one of the best players in Tennessee. That’s her every night. She’s played like that and will continue to play like that,” Million mentioned.

Jobe accounted for all three of Greeneville’s runs.

Madison Carpenter and Lydia Darnell put together back-to-back singles following Jobe’s blast. Lynch dropped the ball behind the plate and Carpenter dashed to third base for a gutsy steal with no outs.

But a few bad breaks fell their way, and three-straight outs ended Greeneville's chances at a comeback.

Claiborne survived to win 5-3.

Marley Sweet was the winning pitcher. She completed all seven innings and allowed ten hits, three runs, and struck out seven batters. Hannah Fugate went 2-for-4 with with two runs. Kinley Mullins went 1-2 with two RBI’s.

Kyla Jobe had herself quite a night coming just a triple shy of the cycle. Jobe went 3-for-4 with a home run, double, and single. She scored all three runs for the Lady Devils. Madison Carpenter and Lydia Darnell each went 2-4 with an RBI.

Leah Phillips pitched a complete game and racked up nine strikeouts.

Greeneville’s next matchup will come Tuesday night at 5:30 on the road against Cherokee.

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