Shelby Blake and the Gibbs Eagles took on the Sequatchie County Lady Indians in a TSSAA Class AA state tournament game on Thursday, May 27, 2021, at StarPlex in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Gibbs won 5-0. (Photo by Danny Parker)
By JESSE SMITHEY
MURFREESBORO – This might not be the most talented or deep Gibbs softball team that head coach Carol Mitchell has ever fielded, but its tenacity and heart have been all-state this week.
The youth-laden Lady Eagles produced two wins Thursday, knocking off Sequatchie County and Red Bank in the Class AA state tournament, to advance to the final day of the season.
Who would have thought, when Gibbs only got to play three games in March after missing the entire 2020 season, that the Lady Eagles would have been seasoned or experienced enough to make a run like this?
Nevertheless, it has happened.
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Gibbs will play at 9 a.m. Central time on Friday against Lexington (36-10-1) for the right to move on to the Class AA championship game (2:30 p.m. against Forrest).
Should Gibbs (32-12) win the morning game, it would have to beat Forrest (29-3-1) twice to win the title. Forrest beat Gibbs, 10-2, on Wednesday.
“Honestly, the coaches were talking about how if we could finish fourth (this week) that it would be a good accomplishment with this team. Now, we’re at the point where we’re in the top three,” said Mitchell.
“So, anything from here is pretty much icing on the cake.”
Sophomore pitcher Abbie Buckner and junior centerfielder Gracie Palmer helped key the two victories on Thursday.
Palmer drove in a run in both the first and fifth innings in the opening win (5-0) over Sequatchie County. Meanwhile, Buckner pitched a complete game, scattering seven hits while striking out four.
All told, she and the Gibbs defense stranded nine Sequatchie runners on base and twice got out of bases-loaded jams.
“In that game, the second, third and fourth innings were brutal,” said Mitchell, really emphasizing the word “brutal.”
“They left eight runners on (across) the second, third and fourth innings.”
In the second game, a 5-1 win over Red Bank, Buckner didn’t record a strikeout. But she limited Red Bank to just four hits over seven innings and needed just 95 pitches to get her work done.
Red Bank got a couple runners on in both the sixth and seventh innings, but Buckner and the Gibbs defense minimized the damage.
Palmer had another big game, going 2 for 4 with an inside-the-park home run and two RBIs.
“She was big today,” Mitchell said of Palmer. “Putting the ball in play, getting those hits at the right time.
“That’s what you have to do when you get into the tournament.”
As for Friday, Gibbs knows what to expect. It’s Championship Day.
And that’s something they prepare for during the season.
“I feel like we can play with any team. Just go play the game. It’s Championship Day. We practiced this a few weeks ago,” said Mitchell.
“We had a big week with some tough teams. Some went our way and some didn’t. But we practiced this week. So we’re doing a lot better this time than we did that time.”
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