NAUGATUCK — Tug Valley opened up the Class A Region IV Section I Softball Tournament on a high note on Tuesday night as they picked up a shutout win over Van by a final score of 8-0 in six innings.
“We played good enough to win,” Tug coach Rocky Hall said after the game. “We had some bright spots especially at the end of the line up. Megan (Griffey) really hit the ball hard today. Our top of the lineup was slow coming out of the gate. But sometimes that happens. But I’m always happy with a win.”
Senior pitcher Kinna Justice brought her A-game against the Lady Bulldogs as she fired the complete game in the circle allowing only two hits and one walk while striking out nine batters.
“Kinna is usually pretty good at throwing strikes, she doesn’t walk a whole lot,” coach Hall said. “We don’t want to put anyone on. Defensively we want to make them earn it. She’s been good for us all year.”
The No. 4 seed Lady Panthers jumped out to an early lead as they hung five runs on the board in the bottom of the second inning all with two outs.
Megan Griffey got the rally started as she came up with the bases loaded and singled to left to bring in the first run. Next up was Bailee Hall and she reached on an infield single to third that sent another run home to make it 2-0.
Justice then helped her own cause with a two-run single to left field to make it a 4-0 game and then Amelya Wellman reached on an error to send home the fifth run.
The score stayed the same until the home half of the fifth when Griffey led the frame off with a deep drive down the right field line and speed all the way around for an inside-the-park home run to make it 6-0.
The Lady Panthers ended it in the bottom of the sixth as Hall started the inning with a rope to left center and she motored home for an inside-the-park homer and then later in the inning McKynnli Farley drew a bases loaded walk to bring in the eighth and final run.
Hall and Griffey each had two hits, two RBIs, and two runs to lead Tug while Wellman and Farley both doubled with Farley having the RBI. Justice singled in two runs while Tailyn Russel, Haleigh Muncy, and Hailey Newsome both singled.
Emma Wilcox and Emilee White both singled for Van to represent the only base hits of the night for the Lady ‘Dogs.
“Just struggling to swing the bats,” Van coach James Aaron Harper said. “You can’t beat anybody if you don’t get any base hits. We actually played the field better than we had probably all year really. We just couldn’t hit the ball. Struggling.”
Wilcox took the loss in the circle as she went all six innings allowing eight runs, seven earned, on 10 hits with five punchouts and five walks.
With the win Tug Valley improves to 15-11 advances to face top-seed Man and Radford commit Morgan Cooper on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in Man.
“In all reality, anybody can win this sectional,” coach Hall said after the game. “It just depends on who shows up any given night. I don’t feel like we played our top game today, but we played good enough to win.”
With the loss Van, who is the No. 5 seed, fell to 6-18 on the year but stays alive in the double-elimination tourney as they will go on the road to play the loser of No. 2 seed Buffalo or No. 3 seed Sherman on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
“Either way it’s a tough opponent, you’re either getting Buffalo at Buffalo or Sherman at Sherman,” Harper said. “I would personally rather have Sherman. We got to live to fight another day.”
TVHS: 0 5 0 1 0 2 — 8 10 1
HD Media reporter Jarrid McCormick covers sports in Southern West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky.
