Hiwassee Dam – After a tough loss the previous week to Copper Basin, Tenn., after a mercy-rule win over the Lady Cougars earlier this season, Hiwassee Dam softball coach Roger Adams saw against Andrews the team he thought the Lady Eagles were capable of being from the beginning of the year.
The pitching from Olivia McNabb was crisp, the defense was much improved and, most importantly, Hiwassee Dam’s bats did what they needed to do.
After scoring six runs over the first four innings, the Lady Eagles put seven on the board in the fifth, with Payton McNabb’s grand slam putting the game into mercy-rule territory for a 13-0 win over the Lady Wildcats on March 28.
Two days later in Andrews, Hiwassee Dam turned back the Lady Wildcats again, 18-8.
“Just more consistency, offensively and defensively,” Adams said after the March 28 win. “We hit the ball a lot better today. We hit the ball like this team should be hitting the ball. We’ve been practicing really good, but we haven’t been transferring it to game time.
“Today was the first time I saw them play like they’ve been practicing.”
Hiwassee Dam (4-3 overall, 2-0 Smoky Mountain Conference) has been able to put some runs on the board in most of their games, but hadn’t been clicking up and down the lineup. That changed for at least one Lady Eagle in the second inning, when senior Allison Stiles crushed a pitch well over the center-field fence. That put Hiwassee Dam up 3-0 after it had scored two runs off Andrews (1-6, 0-5) errors in the first inning.
Stiles had hit a ball to the fence in the Lady Eagles’ opening game of the season at Franklin, but hadn’t quite felt comfortable at the plate since. In the third inning, she hit a fly ball that bounced off the center-fielder’s head for a two-run double, then hit another double to center in the fifth inning.
“Allison told me when she rounded third on that home run there, I’m back, I felt it,” Adams said. “That’s what it takes. It takes some good hits, some big hits to get them motivated and get their confidence back.”
Hiwassee Dam looked sharper defensively as well, despite some players switching positions and others having to take over for injured starters. Brinkley Payne played catcher for the first time this year instead of Payton McNabb, who moved to third base.
Second baseman Sky Taylor was out due to illness and right-fielder Bella Stiles was out due to a hand injury, so Kalli Hagelin and Taylor Burt took over at their respective positions. Payne threw out a runner at second in the fourth inning, then Hiwassee Dam threw out a runner at home and the batter out at second on a base hit to end the fifth inning.
“I was proud of them,” Adams said. “Might not have made every play, but they moved in the right direction and made good decisions. That’s all I can ask for. Those kids need game time and somebody has to step up.”
A base hit by Payton McNabb scored Olivia Williams to put Hiwassee Dam up 6-0 in the fourth to set the stage for the fifth and final inning. After Stiles’ double, Taylor Burt walked to load the bases. Gracie Rhodes followed with a two-run single, then Kiera Taylor doubled to center to extend the lead to 9-0.
After the Lady Wildcats intentionally walked Williams, McNabb ended the game with a grand slam to left. Adams is hoping this week represented a step in the right direction, as well as a learning lesson from the Copper Basin loss.
The Lady Eagles will have tighter games this year, especially with the conference looking more competitive this year from top to bottom. They traveled to Hayesville late Tuesday, then hosted the Lady Jackets on Thursday.
“I hope that they took (the Copper Basin loss) to heart and realized they didn’t play up to their expectations,” Adams said. “I’m hoping that they learn from it. It’s one of those things that you don’t know where you get back into a nitty-gritty game where it could comes down to pressure.”