Story by: David Dawson
Photos by: Christian Taylor (@CTCreativeWork)
FRANKLIN — With 24 games being played in the span of about seven hours, the opening day of the Raptor Classic felt a lot like the state tournament.
The level of competition was pretty similar to the state tournament, too.
This year's Classic — hosted by Ravenwood High School at Fly Park in Franklin — features a total of 25 teams, including several top-tier squads from the local area and well beyond.
"This tournament is awesome in terms of talent," said Summit head coach Jenny Stevenson. "When I first saw the list of teams that were going to be playing this weekend, I was like, 'whoa, this tournament is loaded.'"
The second day of the Classic is slated for Saturday, and will feature a modified schedule due to potential bad weather. Instead of having pool-play games that were scheduled for Saturday morning, the Classic will move straight into the single-elimination tournament, with games beginning at 12:30 p.m.
The first day of the two-day event didn't produce sparkling results for the five District 11-AAA representatives — Ravenwood, Summit, Franklin, Independence and Brentwood — who combined to post a 2-8 record.
But in the big picture, the day was nonetheless productive for the local squads, who are using the Classic as a means of preparing for the more impactful games that lie ahead.
"We want to be at our peak when we go into the district tournament," said Ravenwood sophomore Ella Sasser, who delivered a walk-off single that lifted the Lady Raptors to a 5-4 win over Nashville Christian in their opening game of the Classic on Friday afternoon. "In a way, the games this weekend don't really matter that much. Our goal is to get ready for the district tournament. ... We're really just trying to get better every day."
Ravenwood lost to Westmoreland, 3-2, in its second game despite a strong outing from Avery Wissmar in the circle. The senior allowed just four hits and compiled 10 strikeouts. She carried a shutout through five innings before Westmoreland broke through with three runs in the sixth to win it.
Summit also went 1-1 on Friday, with the Lady Spartans posting a 3-0 win over Clarksville in their second game after being shutout, 5-0, against Hazle Green in their opener.
Summit's Elena Escobar tossed a one-hit shutout and finished with seven strikeouts in the Lady Spartans' four-inning victory over Clarksville (all the games were limited to 70 minutes). Morgan Woodside led the offense, going 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. Ashlyn Easley had a hit and scored two runs, Abby O'Rielly had a double and scored a run, and Claudette Runk added an RBI.
Brentwood, Indy and Franklin each went 0-2 on the day, which included several tight contests for the Williamson County representatives. There were four one-run games among the 10 contests that involved the District 11-AAA squads.
"That's the reason we play in these tournaments — we want the girls to compete in pressure situations and learn from that," said Ravenwood coach Allison Brown. "That's the experience and the exposure that I want them to see and that's what I want them to get. … Even though we lost our second game tonight, in the grand scheme of things, that's fine. Because I want us to learn from this."
Ravenwood freshman Linley Pittman earned the victory in the circle in the Lady Raptors' win over Nashville Christian. Pittman went the distance in the four-inning contest and allowed six hits with three strikeouts.
Wissmar went 1-for-2 with a triple and a walk. Gracie Bennett and Camilla Wilbanks added one hit each.
Wilbanks finished 2-for-2 with an RBI in Ravenwood's second game, and Lexi Erickson, Cameron Taylor, Sasser and Wissmar had one hit each.
Sasser said the Lady Raptors have made big strides in recent days while playing top-level opponents.
"We want to play good competition — and we've definitely done that the past two weekends," Sasser said, referring to last week's Brentwood Invitational in addition to the Classic. "We can tell it has made us better as a team."
Franklin was involved in two competitive games on Friday, with the Lady Admirals losing 6-3 to Wilson Central in their opener, and then falling 1-0 to White House in their second game.
"Our bats are just a little dead right now, so we've just got to figure out how to adjust to different pitchers — and how to do it quickly," said Franklin coach Karen Whidby. "So far, we're not doing that. We have great bats, but we're just not showing it."
Ellie Anisi had two hits for Franklin against White House, and Jean Costello, Sydney Harris and Grace Gardner added one hit each. Anisi and Aubrea Tucker accounted for Franklin's two hits in the second game.
Whidby noted that playing in the Classic is especially important for her team, given the complications that have occurred due to COVID.
"We missed a whole season last year, and we didn't have a preseason this year," said Whidby, "so we're just trying to learn how to adjust. We don't really even know what our lineup looks like at this point. We're swapping some things around and trying to find out where everybody fits. And that's why this tournament is huge — it is a chance for the girls to get some repetitions and some experience."
Independence fell to Wilson Central, 9-2, and to Summertown, 6-1. Brentwood lost to Westmoreland, 4-3, on Friday night after suffering a 10-3 loss to Brentwood Academy earlier in the day.
Brown said the Classic is a great opportunity for teams to focus on their fundamentals — something she hopes to see the Lady Raptors doing more of in the weeks ahead.
"We're having trouble doing some of the small things — getting our bunts down and moving runners over and things like that," she said. "Softball is a game of inches, and those things matter. But we're going to keep working and hopefully keep improving. We are using this tournament to get better every day."
