The Gibbs Lady Eagles defeated DeKalb County, 1-0, in 10 innings to win the Class 3A state softball championship Friday, May 23, 2025, at MTSU. (Photo by Danny Parker/5Star Preps)
BY JESSE SMITHEY
MURFREESBORO — Lacey Keck didn’t need to have a memorable moment or two Friday to cement her Gibbs Softball legacy any further.
But, hey, the moment called for Keck to deliver, and she did again — twice.
The senior lefty pitched out of a 10th-inning jam in the Class 3A State Championship and then knocked in the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th to lift Gibbs to a 1-0 win over DeKalb County.
“No panic. No panic at all,” Gibbs coach Carol Mitchell said. “Not from any of them.”
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Gibbs (41-3) repeated as state champions and won the program’s 12th championship, all-time.
DeKalb County wound up 26-6-1, reaching the title game for the first time in program history.
Keck pitched all 10 innings in this her final prep game. She allowed four hits and no walks, striking out five.
Gibbs squandered scoring opportunities in the seventh and ninth innings.
International tiebreaker rules began in the 10th, meaning a runner automatically starts on second.
In the top of the 10th, DeKalb’s sacrifice bunt worked right out of the gates, and the batter got to first safely, putting two runners on.
Keck fanned the next two batters.
And then Keck picked up a bunt, and she and Malyiah Smith chased down a DeKalb baserunner between third and home to end the Lady Tigers’ chance.
In Gibbs’ half of the 10th, Smith got on with a one-out bunt single. She advanced to second on defensive interference — setting the stage for Keck, who popped an 0-1 pitch out to shallow right to end the game.
“Lacey is special. She’s a special player,” Mitchell said. “She’s not just a pitcher. She’s a hitter, as well. She’s a competitor.
“She’s going to go down as one of the best to ever play at Gibbs, and there’s been a lot of good ones.”
THE GAME FLOW
The game moved swiftly to be a 10-inning contest.
Keck encountered no stress in the first inning, retiring the side with ease — a groundout to short, a strikeout and liner to left.
She then completed the top of the second in less than 3 minutes of clock.
Gibbs’ offense didn’t fare much better through the first two innings, striking out four times and logging no hits against DeKalb’s Kora Kilgore — who struck out 19 and 17 batters, respectively, in DeKalb’s first two wins this week.
The Lady Tigers got a runner to second with two outs in the top of the third. Keck silenced the threat by getting a groundout to third.
Keck nearly broke the game open with a blooper to center, but DeKalb’s center fielder Dover and caught it to end the two-on, two-out scoring opportunity for Gibbs in the third.
Still, Keck kept the quick pace going to begin the fourth. Sure, she allowed a two-out bloop single to shallow right to spoil her no-hitter. But the DeKalb’s top half of the fourth barely lasted 2-3 minutes.
Gibbs got a runner to second with one out in the bottom of the fourth couldn’t scratch together a run — just a lineout to center and a strikeout. Shelby Williams got the infield single for Gibbs that kickstarted the chance.
Keck retired the side in 2 minutes to start the fifth. The bottom of Gibbs’ lineup went quietly in the bottom of the inning. DeKalb got a runner to second in the top of the sixth, but shortstop Malyiah Smith’s chase-down catch on a liner to center ended the threat.
Shelby Williams got a triple in the bottom of the sixth with two outs, but a Gibbs popout to right kept the game knotted at 0-0.
Gibbs went to the bottom of the seventh with a chance to win it, the game still scoreless.
The Lady Eagles got two runners on with two outs but left-handed, pinch-hitter Macie Wolfe popped out in foul territory. Smith was on deck.
DeKalb got a runner on first to start the eighth, but Gibbs clutched up and turned a double play. The next batter lined out to right.
Smith led off the bottom of the eighth with a bunt single. With two outs, Bri Baker laced a liner down the line to right — but it landed just foul. Smith would have scored with ease. Baker popped out on the next pitch to end the eighth.
In the bottom of the ninth, Sky Luttrell kicked off Gibbs’ half with a walk. Hayley Keck sacrificed a pinch-runner to second. Maddi Whaley sacrificed the runner to third.
But Savanna Melo’s soft liner down the left field line was caught in time for an out.
No matter. Keck took care of it from there.
“My first at-bats, I had popped it up. I knew I had to make adjustments,” Keck said of her game-winning hit. “I had to get on top of the ball.
“I had to keep my hands high and hit the top of the ball.”
The game-winning hit for @GibbsSoftball by @keck_lacey pic.twitter.com/crNZk95gxl
— 5Star Preps (@5StarPreps) May 23, 2025