Magical Season Comes To An End

Staff Photo by Mike Stanley

Staff Photo by Mike Stanley

Staff Photo by Mike Stanley

Staff Photo by Mike Stanley

Staff Photo by Mike Stanley

Staff Photo by Mike Stanley

Staff Photo by Mike Stanley

When Jefferson County opened the softball season against Farragut back on March 9th, not many believed the ride that this softball team would end up on. “After that first game of the season I wouldn’t have believed we would be where we are,” Jefferson County Head Coach Hillary Howard said after her team won the District 2-AAA tournament back on May 7th.

Eight games into the season, the Lady Patriots stood at 2-5-1. Yes one game ended in a tie, but for this team of resiliency that was just motivation to train and improve, and that is exactly what they did.

The Lady Patriots fought and clawed their way to a better than .500 record to end the regular season at 16-15. They entered the District Tournament as the 3-seed and after defeating Morristown West for a third time, 7-2, they would have to beat Cherokee twice to get to the Championship game.

Cherokee had Jefferson County’s number during the regular season, defeating the Lady Patriots both times they had played. However, that didn’t stop the Lady Patriots from believing. They were able to beat the Lady Chiefs twice to advance to the District Championship that has eluded them in years past.

Enter Seymour – who has ousted the Lady Patriots the previous three seasons in the District Tournament, and defeated JCHS nine of the last ten times they have faced one another. Jefferson County made that number 9 of 11 when they defeated Seymour, 7-5, in the District 2-AAA Championship, and pandemonium rang from Boyds Creek Road all the way back to Jefferson County High School.

With the win, Jefferson County was able to host the region 1-AAA tournament and face off against a Volunteer High School team, who many believed to be the best in this area. After trailing early, 2-0, JCHS battled back to win 5-2 and keep the magic rolling into the Region Championship.

Jefferson County would draw none other than their arch nemesis, Seymour, in that Region Championship game. But, for the 2nd time in just under a week, JCHS defeated Seymour, 5-3, and advanced for the right to host a sectional (sub-state) game.

That is when Bearden High School came to town to take on the Lady Patriots. It was a pitcher’s duel for most of the contest, but the Lady Patriots found themselves just 6 outs away from heading to the state tournament. Costly errors and timely hitting from the Lady Bulldogs, however, ended Jefferson County’s season as they Lady Patriots fell, 4-2.

“I am just so proud of the way this team has fought,” Howard said. “Do I wish we were playing in the state tournament? Yes. But I am just so proud of these girls.”

Thoughts From Mike Stanley:

I would have to call this post-season run from the JCHS Softball team nothing short of amazing. The journey from where they started the season to where they finished is just unbelievable in my mind: probably one of the most memorable post-season runs in Jefferson County Sports in recent years, simply because not too many teams finishing around .500 make it as far as this team did. Being just 6 outs away from playing in the state tournament is an unbelievable feat for these hardworking girls.

Congratulations to this team of resilient competitors and to Coach Hillary Howard, who herself and Coach Bridgewater got this team to buy in and compete every single night in their first season together at JCHS. “You Play For May.”

Source: Mike Stanley, Jefferson County Post Sports