Lady Trojans advance at district tournament with win over Milan

At the end of the regular season, first-year DHS Lady Trojan coach Mark Jamison believed with his squad finally getting healthy, it could play with anybody.

On Thursday afternoon in Dyer at the District 13-AA softball tournament being held at Gibson County High School, Jamison's squad backed up his comments.

Behind another stellar performance on the mound from Shelby Andrews, solid defensive plays from Courtney Sizemore and Cammee Combs and the timely hitting of Tracy Ratliff and Mary Jewels Baker, the Lady Trojans advanced in the winner's bracket with a 2-0 win over Milan.

"I really believed with our girls being healthy to start this tournament that we could play with anybody and today they showed it," said Jamison afterward. "We didn't set the world on fire hitting the ball, but we got the hits when we needed them most and our defense really stepped up today."

Oh, did they ever.

The Lady Trojans were able to keep Milan off the scoreboard thanks in large part to recording three double plays during the contest. Two of those came from Sizemore at third base and the last from Combs in left field to end the game.

The first of the rare double plays came in the bottom of the second inning. Milan had the bases loaded with one out when Hannah Farrow stroked a line drive right at Sizemore at third. After making the grab, Sizemore tagged the runner at third to end threat No. 1.

Dyersburg took a 1-0 lead in the top half of the third inning when Andrews scored on a triple from Ratliff down the left field line. Though Ratliff was stranded at third when the frame was over, the 1-0 advantage was momentum enough for Andrews to hold the Lady Bulldogs at bay for the majority of the contest.

In the bottom of the sixth, Lady Bulldog Alex Williams delivered with a lead-off single before Ashley Fuller stepped to the plate. Somewhat mirroring the play in the second inning, Fuller lined out to Sizemore and the senior fired to first to double up Williams in a close play.

With two outs, Andrews fanned Kendall Daniels to end the inning.

Dyersburg added an insurance run in the top of the seventh when Mary Jewels Baker ripped a laser to the gap in right center for a stand-up triple. Focused on reaching home, Baker darted like a bullet on a passed ball to make it 2-0.

The Lady Bulldogs threatened in the bottom half of the final inning, only to see another Lady Trojan come up with a gem of a defensive play to end the game. With a runner at second, Combs corralled a liner to left field. Making the catch on her knees, the sophomore fired to second for the double play as Dyersburg advanced with a 2-0 win.

The Lady Trojans are scheduled to return to action today at 8 p.m., weather permitting.