MURFREESBORO, Tn. – Bedford North Lawrence concluded its season-opening road trip with two quality wins during the final day of the Southern Warrior Classic on Saturday.
The Stars wrapped up their seven-game journey with victories over Coffee County (Tn.) and Lexington (Tn.) to head home with a solid 5-2 record. BNL started with a 7-4 triumph over Coffee County (ranked No.10 in Class 4A in Tennessee), then powered to an 11-7 win over Lexington.
“Both of them were very good,” BNL coach Brad Gilbert said. “We stepped on the field and took control right away. We set the tone for the day. Everybody got better, it was a great warmup to our season. The way we played today, if we can play like that every game, we’re going to be very competitive.“
BNL 7, Coffee County 4 – The Stars were the aggressors on the base paths and at the plate.
BNL took a 3-0 lead in the first. With one out and the bases loaded, Macee Nicholson lofted a sacrifice fly to score one run. When the throw sailed past the catcher, Ava Ratliff scrambled home. And when the Red Raiders lost focus, Kendall Graves dashed home for the third run on the play.
“When the dust settled, the pitcher and catcher had their heads down,” Gilbert said. “Kendall basically stole home on them, and that was the shot in the chest that let them know, we were here to play and be aggressive. That’s how we played the whole day. It was exciting.”
Tori Nikirk crashed a solo home run in the second, and Ratliff ripped a three-run bomb in the sixth. Nikirk and Ratliff both had two hits, and Nikirk (from center field) threw out two runners at the plate to keep Coffee County (which had won 10 straight games) at bay.
”Tori was the star of the first game,” Gilbert said. “She threw two girls out at home, hit a home run, she was diving all over. She had a great game.”
Karsyn Coleman earned the win in the circle, going the distance while allowing only two earned runs.
BNL 11, Lexington 7 – The Stars raced to a 7-0 lead in the tourney finale.
Nikirk led off the game with a home run to center, and BNL added more runs in the second. Dalanie Davis singled in a run, Bella Warren followed with a RBI double, and Ratliff blasted a homer to cap a six-run frame.
After Lexington closed within 7-4, BNL recovered with its power as Ratliff crushed a two-run homer and Graves followed with a solo blast in the sixth.
Nikirk and Coleman had three hits each. Nicholson earned the win, giving up only one earned run in 3 1/3 innings of work.
“We battled,” Gilbert said. “There a few games where there were no corners on the plate, but our pitchers are going to battle, grind it out and get the job done. I’m proud of the effort they gave.”
Ratliff, one of the leading candidates for Miss Softball, finished the tournament with six home runs and 15 hits in the seven games.
BNL will return home to face Jasper on Thursday.
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