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By Ron Barry

Sarah Cherry has been playing basketball with Hannah Johnson since the third grade. So who’s better qualified to tell us what Dyersburg State is getting after the Lady Cavalier senior announced Thursday she has signed a basketball grant-in-aid with the Lady Eagles?

“They’re getting a great player, for sure,” Cherry said at the signing ceremony held at CCHS Thursday. “But way more than that, they’re getting a great person who will be a terrific teammate. Hannah cares so much for the people she plays with; she’s always there as a friend to listen, without judgment, and she’s always looking to lift you up.”

Cherry said Johnson is much more than an exceptional scorer when on the court.

“She’s just as willing to make an open pass to find a better shot for a teammate if it’s there,” Cherry said. “And it’s obvious to everyone who ever watched us play that she can shoot and rebound. But it’s the great teammate aspect that people don’t always get to see, because it’s in the locker room or just around school.”

Much of what Cherry shared validated the words of Crockett County coach Kayla Irvin, who hosted the afternoon ceremony in which Johnson’s next step was celebrated by family, friends, and teammates.

“Hannah is so coachable and truly loves to be coached ‘hard,’ being challenged,” Irvin said. “I never had to walk on egg shells around her; she’s not a complainer, and she loves to prove people wrong who may say there’s something she can’t do.”

Another thing Irvin respects about Johnson is her attraction to the bigger moments.

“She wants the ball when the game’s on the line,” Irvin said, a point Cherry also made. “She can score the ball when the team really needs a basket, and never shies away from looking for that responsibility.”

Irvin also loves the fact that Johnson can handle a little sarcasm, and dish it out as well.

“I knew we were going to get along pretty well when I saw that early on,” Irvin laughed.

Irvin lauded several of Johnson’s accomplishments while a Lady Cavalier: All-District two years, All-District Tournament three times, All-District Tournament Most Valuable Player, All-Region Tournament, Hub City Classic MVP, Warrior Award and Best All-Around Player at CCHS, and a 1,000-point-plus career scorer.

For their part, Dyersburg State head coach Nathan Daume and assistant Hanna Box issued the following statement: “From the moment we saw Hannah play her junior year, we were very excited about her. We are very happy that Hannah has chosen Dyersburg State as her home for the next two years. Hannah already has so much talent and potential to keep getting better. Our goal for her is to first have a great experience at Dyersburg State and then for us to help her improve her game as much as possible and go on to receive a four-year school offer to finish her degree and play ball. Hannah is a great fit for our program, and we are very blessed to have not only a great basketball player but a great person in our program.”

Her new coaches’ interest in her as a person was a key factor in Johnson’s decision to select DSCC.

“The fact that they see me as more than just a player is very important to me,” Johnson said. “I feel like Dyersburg State is a place where I can be myself. I want to be a player who can give them some scoring, but I want to be the best teammate I can be on and off the court.”

Johnson will be joining a trio of men’s players who continued their hoops careers at Dyersburg State a year ago: Haydn Moten, Juwan McLemore, and Isaiah Claybrooks. She was also offered by Motlow State Community College, but decided being closer to home would be a better fit.

Johnson is the second female athlete to sign with Dyersburg State this season, following her soccer teammate Kristin Lewis.

Hannah Johnson is surrounded by teammates from the basketball squad as the Crockett senior signs with Dyersburg State to continue her basketball career. (Photo by Ron Barry)

Hannah Johnson's family flanks her at the Dyersburg State signing ceremony Thursday afternoon at CCHS. (Photo by Ron Barry)

Lady Cavalier coach Kayla Irvin reflected on Hannah Johnson's career and character to introduce the signing ceremony Thursday. (Photo by Ron Barry)

Hannah Johnson signs to continue her basketball career at Dyersburg State Community College. (Photo by Ron Barry)

Hannah Johnson listens to Coach Kayla Irvin's tribute to her career as a Lady Cavalier. (Photo by Ron Barry)

Hannah Johnson -- with Coach Kayla Irvin watching intently behind her -- drives for the basket during a game this past season. (Photo by Ron Barry)

Crockett fans are going to miss watching that sweet stroke that helped Hannah Johnson accumulate more than 1,000 points in her career. (Photo by Ron Barry)

With her playing buddy since third grade, Sarah Cherry, in the background, Hannah Johnson scores another bucket for Crockett County. (Photo by Ron Barry)

 

 

By Ron Barry

There’s an old saying in sports: Defense wins championships.

Well, here’s a corollary: The plays you don’t make will hurt you more than the plays you make will help you.

That was the story of Wednesday’s baseball game between Crockett County and Peabody. The final box score will show that the Cavaliers made only two errors, but there were several other situations in which a headier play might have helped prevent the 5-3 loss Crockett suffered to the Trenton squad.

Begin with pitcher Brady Fronabarger, who seemed to deserve a better fate after striking out 10 in five innings of work. Much of the time, he was extremely impressive. But he also issued an uncharacteristic six walks, and a few came back to bite him.

There were also a couple of highly debatable umpire calls that snuffed out potential Cav rallies. One came when junior outfielder Cade Freeman, who was going from first to second on a ground ball, properly slid in the base path and never got within five feet of the second base bag – yet was called for obstruction despite the fact Peabody second baseman Brandon Halbrook had already lost control of the ball before he took the two steps necessary to even reach Freeman so he could fall over him. The obstruction ruling gave the visitors a double play, and ended Crockett’s at-bat in the fourth.

The other ended the bottom of the fifth when courtesy runner Baker Maddox was called out while attempting to steal second, despite the fact that the tag appeared to miss him completely because Maddox had already slid around and past it before the throw arrived.

But Cavalier head coach Brent Fronabarger would be the first to say neither of those situations would have mattered if his players had just made some plays that they should have made – errors or not.

It started in the very first inning when Fronabarger issued two of his walks, but had two outs with the runners still on first and second. Lead runner Alan Torres broke for third while Guillermo Collazo Cruz hesitated at first before breaking to second. He could have been thrown out, but by the time the Crockett defense reacted and made a throw, it was too late and Torres continued all the way to home for the game’s first run.

Crockett came right back to tie it up in the bottom of the first when Fronabarger singled and courtesy runner Maddox took second on a passed ball. Cav catcher Carter Winders then singled him home with a hard ground ball to center.

Fronabarger struck out the first two Peabody hitters in the second, but then a two-base infield error on a routine grounder put Aidan Raines on second. Franklin Elliott promptly singled him home with the unearned run, and the Golden Tide led 2-1.

Crockett regained the edge with a two-run third. Landon Wicker led off with a bloop single to left, and Reed Ingram followed with a line single to left. After Fronabarger was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Winders grounded into a fielder’s choice at second, but got a run home. Joseph Gould grounded out to third, but it was good enough to plate another tally, and the hosts were back in front 3-2.

The Cavs found themselves in two-out trouble again in the fourth on a Torres double, another walk, and a wild pitch, but Freeman made a nice running catch of a fly to left field and held the runners with a good throw home, and Fronabarger fanned the next batter to end the frame.

In the top of the fifth – again with two outs – Peabody had a runner at second after another base on balls and a wild pitch. Raines hit a ground ball up the middle that would have been an infield hit, but wouldn’t have brought the runner home from second if either Crockett infielder had stopped it from going into the outfield. Neither did, and it was suddenly 3-3.

Gould came on to pitch the sixth for Crockett, and yielded a single to Torres, who then advanced to second on a poorly thrown pickoff attempt on a 1-and-1 count. A groundout moved Torres to third before Collazo Cruz crushed a double to the center-field fence, breaking the tie. He then was able to score when a single to right by Banks McDaniel was bobbled, negating any chance of a throw to the plate when there would have been a solid chance to get the out.

Collazo Cruz made two nice defensive plays to record outs in the bottom of the seventh after Freeman had reached on a walk and advanced on a wild pitch, thwarting Crockett’s final attempt at a comeback and dropping the Cavs’ season record to 9-7.

Crockett managed just six singles against Torres, who issued just one walk although he hit Fronabarger twice. Winders paced the Cav offense with two runs batted in. The Cavs will host Jackson South Side Friday afternoon in their next outing.

SOFTBALL: Coach David Barker’s tour of “Murderer’s Row” opponents continued Wednesday night as his Lady Cavaliers traveled to Germantown to face the 10-3 Lady Mustangs of Houston High School, and the hosts pounded out 10 hits and took advantage of nine walks to down Crockett 15-5.

Barker has stated his intent this season was to schedule the best teams in West Tennessee for his non-district games in an effort to get his squad used to facing the toughest competition possible. Houston certainly did its part to meet the billing, producing an eight-run rally in the second inning and adding tallies in each of the next three to post its triumph.

Barker utilized four pitchers who haven’t seen that much action in the circle this season: Makenna Tibbs, Syesha Torres, Piper Smith, and Maddie Humphrey.

Crockett actually jumped to a 2-0 lead in the second. Sadie Hoover lined a one-out single to center and took second when Jayden Maddox reached on an infield error. Madison Solis singled to left to load the sacks before Hoover scored on a passed ball and Maddox came home on a wild pitch.

After Houston’s eight-run rally in its half of the second, the Lady Cavs responded with three more tallies in the third. Destiny Foster reached on an infield error, Lynden Cole drew a walk, and Kinleigh Lamb reached on another infield boot to load the bases. Following a fielder’s choice out at the plate, Hoover smacked a sacrifice fly to right field to score Cole and Lamb and Brooklyn Haynes worked a double steal to get Lamb across the plate. Solis then doubled to left to plate Haynes.

Solis went 2-for-3 as the lone Lady Cav to post a multi-hit game. Cole, Lamb, Hoover, and Maddox collected the other Crockett hits.

The Lady Cavs move back into district play Thursday at South Gibson in Medina.

Crockett southpaw Brady Fronabarger struck out 10 batters in five innings of work against Peabody Wednesday, but had to work his way through six uncharacteristic walks. (Photo by Ron Barry)

Cav catcher Carter Winders singled home one run and drove in another with a fielder's choice groundout against Peabody Wednesday. (Photo by Ron Barry)

Crockett left fielder Cade Freeman temporarily kept the game tied at 3-3 when he made this running catch and quickly threw home to keep a Golden Tide runner on third. (Photo by Ron Barry)

Grayson Lambert laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to get a runner in scoring position for the Cavs against Peabody. (Photo by Ron Barry)

This three-picture sequence shows how badly things were going for Crockett Wednesday. A potential rally was snuffed out when Cade Freeman (who had singled) headed for second on a ground ball hit by Preston Lambert. As he properly slid directly in the base path, Peabody second baseman Brandon Halbrook taps the bag with his foot to record the forceout ... (Photo by Ron Barry)

... but note that Freeman is still a good five feet away from the bag and still is centered in the base path -- yet Halbrook has already lost control of the ball before he can throw to first for the possible double play, and there has been no contact by Freeman ... (Photo by Ron Barry)

... and finally, after forcing himself to trip over Freeman (and still without the ball in his possession), Halbrook was awarded the double play out at first by the base umpire, who called Freeman for obstruction despite the total lack of evidence as viewed here. (Photo by Ron Barry)

Designated hitter Reed Ingram follows through on a swing that produced a base hit and later a run for the Cavs against Peabody Wednesday. (Photo by Ron Barry)

Peabody scored its final run on this play at the plate despite the best efforts of Cav backstop Carter Winders, whose spinning tag was just a second late. (Photo by Ron Barry)

Madison Solis went 2-for-3 with a double and a run batted in against Houston Wednesday, but it wasn't enough as the Lady Cav softballers fell to the Lady Mustangs 15-5 in Germantown. (Photo by Ron Barry)

Sadie Hoover had one of Crockett's hits, scored a run, and drove in another with a sacrifice fly in the Lady Cavs' 15-5 loss to powerful Houston Wednesday. (Photo by Ron Barry)

 

 

By Ron Barry

Back on March 28, Crockett County’s softballers rolled up to Dyersburg, dropped a tenspot on the Lady Trojans in the fourth inning, and got back on the bus one frame later due to the mercy rule with a 10-0 victory behind the two-hit pitching of Anna Stallings.

Tuesday night, in the rematch in Alamo, it was Dyersburg showing no mercy while the Lady Cavaliers were showing a concerning inability to catch the ball.

In one of the sloppiest games ever played – Crockett made six errors, and Dyersburg made seven – the Lady Trojans outlasted their hosts 12-9 mainly by barreling up almost every pitch in between the ones the Lady Cavs were booting. All six Crockett miscues came on the left side of the infield, and if it hadn’t been for another offensive explosion by senior catcher Lynden Cole, the contest wouldn’t have been close.

And as if the pain of suffering a district defeat to a team they had previously beaten 10-0 didn’t hurt enough, the Lady Cavs then had to face University of Tennessee signee McCall Simms in a nightcap game against Westview. The Crockett offense disappeared completely in that one as Simms threw an immaculate inning – nine pitches, three strikeouts – on her way to a 3-0 shutout. Simms, who also hit a two-run homer in the fourth, struck out 13 of the 17 batters she faced.

The Lady Cavs knew that facing Westview, the defending TSSAA 2-A state champion, would be a tough task, especially with the ultra-talented junior Simms on the pitching rubber. But it was the Jekyll-and-Hyde Dyersburg team that provided Crockett with its biggest disappointment of the night.

The Lady Trojans batting Tuesday night in no way resembled the squad that faced Stallings three weeks ago. But then again, Crockett’s defense made just one error in that game.

A leadoff walk, a stolen base, a sacrifice bunt to move the runner to third, and a kicked ground ball put Dyersburg immediately ahead 1-0. Two more singles loaded the bases, but Lady Cav first baseman Jayden Maddox caught a pop fly and second baseman Kinleigh Lamb threw out the next batter to end the frame.

Crockett responded quickly. Piper White beat out a bunt single and Destiny Foster’s line drive to second was mishandled for an error. With Cole batting and facing a 2-and-2 count, the Lady Cavs pulled off a double steal, and both runners kept going as Dyersburg threw the ball around. White scored and Foster ended up at third, and Cole promptly singled her in to make it 2-1, Crockett.

After Lamb sacrificed Cole to second, a Brooklyn Haynes single to left brought in courtesy runner Gabby Bursey for a 3-1 Lady Cav advantage.

A walk, a passed ball, a fielder’s choice, and two singles allowed the Lady Trojans to tie it back up in the top of the second. It didn’t last long, though, as Foster hit another hard line drive with two outs that was dropped by the left fielder and Cole – who had homered twice the night before and driven in seven runs in a 17-1 rout of Covington – mashed a titanic two-run bomb well over the left-center field fence to make it 5-3.

In the third, two more singles and another error allowed Dyersburg to load the bases, and Chelby Jordan then drilled a liner that went straight off the glove of a Crockett infielder to tie the game again. It would have been worse if Cole had not thrown a runner out at third.

In the top of the fourth, a single and yet another infield error set up a fielder’s choice play at the plate in which no Lady Trojan was retired, and an ensuing sac fly put Dyersburg ahead 7-5. A nearby lightning warning then delayed the game for 30 minutes.

When play resumed, Foster ripped a single to center and Cole was intentionally walked. Lamb grounded into a fielder’s choice out, but then the Lady Trojans kept throwing the ball around trying to record an extra out until it was finally thrown away, allowing courtesy runner Piper Smith to score, narrowing the margin to 7-6.

But it was the top of the fifth that proved to be Crockett’s undoing, and it all happened with two outs and what looked like what could have been a harmless walk. However, Lillian Jones lined a single to center, and Madyson Lanier belted a double to left. Izzie Odom singled to center, Ali Alford singled to left, another infield grounder was booted, and Emma Pritchett singled to left. Suddenly it was 12-6, Dyersburg.

Crockett got one back in the bottom of the sixth when White reached on another bunt single, stole second, and came home when Cole’s liner to right was dropped by the outfielder. In the bottom of the seventh, Hannah Carter drew a two-out walk, White singled on a flare to left, and Foster worked a base on balls to load the sacks for Cole, who laced a two-run double to right field to cut the margin to 12-9. But the rally – and the game – ended there.

Cole was 3-for-4 with a double, home run, and five runs batted in for Crockett. White had three hits and Lamb, Haynes, and Sadie Hoover contributed two each. Gracelyn Miller came in to pitch 2.1 innings of scoreless relief for the Lady Cavs.

In the nightcap game with Westview, Miller started and worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the first, but the Lady Chargers’ Simms – except for a two-out walk to Cole – struck out the side in the first. Miller got out of another bases-loaded situation in the second when Cole picked a runner off third. Simms fanned two more Lady Cavs in the bottom of the second.

Alexis Evans hit a solo homer for Westview in the top of the third, while Simms picked up three more strikeouts in the bottom of the stanza, although White touched her for a single to left. The junior hurler then showed her hitting prowess in the top of the fourth, slamming a two-run homer off Crockett reliever Syesha Torres.

In the bottom of the fourth, Haynes managed an infield single in between three more strikeouts by Simms, who then whiffed three more in the fifth to complete the shutout.

Crockett, now 15-8-1 on the season, travels to Houston High Wednesday for a 6:30 game before returning home Thursday for another district matchup with South Gibson.

TENNIS: Coach Sarah Kennedy’s Crockett tennis team defeated Haywood Monday afternoon, coming on the heels of a clean sweep over Jackson South Side late last week.

Singles winners against Haywood were Baker Jones, Miles McCarter, Hayden Castillo, Izzy Yearwood, Casey Thornton, and Brennan Morris. Victors in doubles competition were Castillo /Jones and Aracely Procopio / Ashley Boone.

The team’s next scheduled match is a 4:00 home event on Thursday.

SOCCER: The widely anticipated boys soccer duel between unbeaten teams Crockett County and Dyersburg was postponed by inclement weather Tuesday night and has been rescheduled for Friday night at 6:00 at the Trojans’ field. The Cavaliers are 7-0 heading into the contest.

Senior catcher Lynden Cole continued her torrid hitting for Crockett, watching her long second-inning home run here sail well over the left-center field fence. (Photo by Ron Barry)

This blast by Lynden Cole was her third in two nights and helped bring her RBI total for the two evenings to an incredible 12. (Photo by Ron Barry)

Senior second baseman Kinleigh Lamb made this diving stop of a grounder up the middle against Dyersburg ... (Photo by Ron Barry)

... and scrambled to her knees to almost throw the runner out at first, but was just a bit late. (Photo by Ron Barry)

Destiny Foster was ripping line drives all over the place Tuesday night against Dyersburg; she scored two of the Lady Cavs' nine runs. (Photo by Ron Barry)

Sadie Hoover had two more hits Tuesday night after going 4-for-4 Monday night against Covington. (Photo by Ron Barry)

Hannah Carter (8) and Brooklyn Haynes (left) circle back toward the dugout after Carter made a running catch in left-center field against Dyersburg Tuesday night. (Photo by Ron Barry)

Crockett's Baker Jones scored a key singles victory Monday afternoon as the Cavalier tennis team downed Haywood. (Photo by Ron Barry)

 

 

By Ron Barry

Leadoff hitter Piper White walked twice, stole three bases, scored four runs, and drove in another as – wait a minute; let’s start over.

Destiny Foster doubled and walked, knocked in two runs, and scored three herself as – whoops, jumped the gun again.

Madison Solis went 2-for-3 with a double, a run scored, and an RBI as – no, that won’t quite do either.

Birthday girl Kinleigh Lamb had two hits and reached base all four times she batted as – well, that’s not quite the place to begin.

Jayden Maddox was 3-for-3, drove home two runs, and tallied another to pace the – nope; also not it.

Senior Gracelyn Miller, who enjoyed her final high school prom Saturday night by being crowned “Queen,” twirled a three-hitter and allowed just a single run to spark – man, this is getting ridiculous.

Outfielder Sadie Hoover hammered a pair of doubles and two other hits in a 4-for-4 performance that led – hmmm, thought that surely would be the headline.

Oh, wait… THERE it is!

Senior catcher Lynden Cole clobbered a second-inning grand slam and added a three-run homer in the third frame for good measure, driving in seven of Crockett County’s first nine runs, as the Lady Cavaliers traveled to Covington Monday night and completely unplugged the Lady Chargers 17-1.

All of the potential ledes above were true, and any one of them might have been the key factor in a “normal” softball game. But so dominant was Coach David Barker’s squad over its hosts Monday that the first seven players mentioned have to wait for another day in the sun, because Cole’s offensive heroics weren’t going to take a back seat to anybody else on this particular evening as Crockett improved its season record to 15-6-1.

It was the second time this spring that Cole has belted two homers and collected seven RBIs in a game, and it was the third multi-bomb game of her career. The first came last year against Dyersburg, which will be the Lady Cavs’ opponent tonight (Tuesday) as they step back into district play at Alamo.

The Dyersburg encounter is actually the first of two games the Lady Cavs will contest tonight. After the 5:00 duel with the Lady Trojans, Crockett will entertain Westview at 7:00.

The Lady Cavs, who endured a couple of rainouts in the past week, wasted no time asserting themselves against Covington pitcher Ashton McCommon. White drew a base on balls to begin the game, stole second and third on the next two pitches, and then waltzed home on Foster’s double to left field. Hoover smashed a line-drive double to center later in the frame to make it 2-0, Crockett.

In the bottom of the first, Miller added to the hosts’ frustration by snaring a liner up the middle and doubling a runner off first to squelch a Covington threat.

Maddox got the Lady Cav party started in the second with a base hit to right, followed by walks to Miller and White. After a fielder’s choice groundout forced Maddox out at home plate, Cole deposited a 1-2 pitch somewhere deep into Tipton County beyond the center-field fence for the grand salami, and Crockett was in front 6-0.

Covington chipped away in the bottom of the inning with a run-scoring single by Kale Wheeler, but that’s all the Lady Chargers would get for their efforts against Miller.

Meanwhile, the Lady Cavs kept applying the heat. Party-starter Maddox did it again with another leadoff single in the third, but two straight fielder’s choice plays created two outs and still only one baserunner. But Foster patiently worked another walk from McCommon , bringing Cole to the batter’s sox. This time the count went to 2-and-2 before the Pensacola State-bound backstop launched another moonshot well beyond the center-field fence, increasing the margin to 9-1.

Crockett pounced on the Lady Chargers for eight more runs in the fourth, leading to the mercy rule being invoked after the hosts didn’t score in the bottom of the stanza. Hoover and Solis each had two hits during the long uprising; Maddox ripped a two-run single; Foster pulled off a successful squeeze bunt for another tally; and reserve Lesley Morales produced an RBI double.

Barring any weather developments, Crockett will play at Houston High on Wednesday evening, host South Gibson Thursday, and visit Obion County Friday. The latter two are district contests.

Crockett senior Lynden Cole -- pictured here with Coach David Barker just behind her -- put on another power display in Covington Monday evening, blasting two home runs and driving in seven in a 17-1 rout of the Lady Chargers. (Photo by Ron Barry)

A beaming Lynden Cole displays the two mashed softballs she hit out of the Covington park Monday night as Crockett rocked the hosts 17-1. (Photo courtesy of Lady Cavalier Diamond Club)

Lady Cav junior outfielder Sadie Hoover went 4-for-4 -- including a two-hit inning when Crockett rallied for eight runs in the fourth -- in the 17-1 thrashing of Covington. (Photo by Ron Barry)

Crockett senior Gracelyn Miller -- named the school's "Prom Queen" Saturday night -- limited Covington to three hits and a single run in the Lady Cav victory Monday evening. (Photo by Ron Barry)

 

 

By Ron Barry

At least the game was much more competitive this time.

Back on March 20 – before a Lady Cavalier even had a chance to chew on a sunflower seed – the Arlington Lady Tigers had hung a sixspot on Crockett County in the top of the first inning on their way to a 15-6 pounding. Arlington came out swinging the bats early and often, with Kendall Wilkie leading the charge with two doubles and a triple.

Friday evening in Arlington was the rematch, and while the Lady Tigers again struck early – with a four-run first – they didn’t get much after that, but still hung on to defeat the Lady Cavs 5-2.

Wilkie hammered a home run this time in that big first inning, when Arlington collected three of its hits. But Crockett pitcher Anna Stallings limited them to just three more over the final five frames, as Coach David Barker’s squad put up a respectable battle against the powerful group from the Memphis region, which now boasts a 19-3 season record.

The Lady Cavs actually outhit Arlington for the game, accumulating nine safeties. But Lady Tiger pitcher Brittanie Layton kept them scattered enough that Crockett managed just single runs in two of the middle innings.

Piper White’s double and a two-out single by Lynden Cole produced the first Lady Cav tally in the top of the third, cutting Arlington’s lead to 4-1. Crockett made it 4-2 in the fourth when Brooklyn Haynes was hit by a pitch and moved all the way to third when Sadie Hoover’s bunt was misplayed for an error, although Hoover was thrown out at second. Jayden Maddox singled Haynes home, and the Lady Cavs loaded the bases when Karly Pigue singled and White drew a walk, but Layton escaped the jam with a strikeout.

Arlington stretched the margin to its final 5-2 in the fifth when Addie Graham tripled and scored on a groundout.

Crockett had two baserunners in the sixth on singles by Madison Solis and Maddox, but couldn’t take advantage. Two more Lady Cavs reached in the seventh, but Layton again wriggled out of trouble.

White and Maddox each collected two hits for Crockett, with Maddox and Cole adding an RBI apiece. Graham went 3-for-3 and scored twice to spark the Lady Tigers.

Crockett is now 14-6-1 for the season and travels to Covington Monday at 5:00 for its next outing before returning home Tuesday for a big district game with Dyersburg.

Shortstop Piper White went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in Crockett's 5-2 loss to powerful Arlington Friday evening. (Photo by Ron Barry)

First baseman Jayden Maddox had two hits and a run batted in Friday for the Lady Cavs, who travel to Covington Monday for their next game. (Photo by Ron Barry)