Warriors sneak past Lady Raiders for championship

Leadoff walks come back to hurt you.

That old adage proved true as the Southwestern Lady Warriors erupted for a five-run 6th inning to steal what could have been the Lady Raiders first ever district title.
McCreary held a 4-2 lead going into the final two innings and had handled the high-powered Southwestern offense with relative ease up to that point.
But with only six outs to go, the Lady Raiders’ luck seemed to run out.
Leading off the 6th starter Macey Welchel surrendered back-to-back walks, and both of those runs would cross the plate to tie the game on a double from Callie Burton. The next batter, Shantelle Woodall, gave the Warriors the advantage with a double to right, scoring Burton for the 5-4 lead. A third consecutive double, followed by an error pushed a total of five runs across the plate for Southwestern, giving them a 7-4 lead and the eventual win, earning them the 48th District Championship crown.
The rally spoiled what was, up to that point, an outstanding game for the Lady Raiders.
McCreary wasted little time sending a message to Southwestern as they grabbed an early lead.
Ally Anderson led off the game with a double to left and scored on an infield ground out for a 1-0 lead.
Southwestern tied the game in the bottom half of the inning after Madison Gaskin walked with 2-outs, then advanced to third on a pair of steals. Gretchen Hines drove in the run with a single up the middle.
McCreary regained the lead with a pair of runs in the top of the third. Cammie Gilreath reached on a one-out single followed by Welchel reaching safely on an error. Singles from Taylor Sumner and Grace Jones plated both runners for a 3-1 McCreary lead.
A solo home run from Taylor in the fifth inning padded the Lady Raiders’ lead at 4-1.
The Lady Warriors cut the lead in half in bottom of the inning after a Gaskin Single and a double from Holly Bunch.

Welchel, Anderson and Sumner were all named to the All-Tournament team for their performances.