LOCAL COLLEGE SPORTS | After ending their regular season with a four-game softball series against Volunteer State in Gallatin last weekend, the Motlow Softball will once again face the Pioneers in the opening round of the TCCAA/Region VII Tournament being played May 7-12 on the Volunteer State campus in Gallatin.

Motlow (18-29, 13-21) is the No. 6 seed for the tournament, while Volunteer State is seeded No. 3. The two will battle on Sunday at 5:30 p.m., with the winner advancing in the winner’s bracket and the loser dropping into the elimination bracket. The tournament is double elimination.

Last weekend’s series with Volunteer saw the Bucks win the opening game 6-3 before dropping the final three contests. Originally scheduled to be played Friday and Saturday, the series was moved to Saturday and Sunday because of inclement weather.

The Bucks broke a 3-3 tie by scoring three runs in the seventh inning to get the win in game one. Savanna Beard singled home Allie Anderson to grab the 4-3 lead. Then Karley Daughrity reached first on an error, allowing Beard and Jordan Lund to race home with insurance runs.

Mary Bradley got the win in the circle for Motlow, pitching the final two innings and allowing just one hit and zero runs. Hannah Burks started the game, pitching five innings and giving up three runs. Michalee Clay had three hits for Motlow, with a run scored and an RBI. Beard had two hits and scored two runs.

Saturday’s second game ended with Volunteer State on top 7-2. Motlow got a home run from Anderson, while Daughrity had two hits and drove in the other run. Bradley started in the circle and took the loss, pitching three innings and allowing four runs. Susanna Cruit pitched two innings and gave up just one hit, while Burks tossed the final inning.

Sunday’s games went Volunteer State’s way, with the Pioneers winning the opener 15-2 and the second game 18-6. Katelyn Helmick had a nice day at the plate for Motlow, going 3-5 with five runs batted in for the day.

Follow the Bucks at MotlowSports.com and @motlowsports on Twitter. •

{The Lynchburg Times is an independently-owned, community newspaper located in Lynchburg, Tennessee the home of The Jack Daniel Distillery. We focus on public service, non-partisan, rural journalism. We cover the Metro Moore County government, local tourism, Moore County schools, high school sports, Motlow State Community College, as well as whiskey industry news and regional and state stories that affect our readers.}