Smith sings praises of Lady Raiders

By T. Wampler Jobe Sports

The Lady Raiders had their fans sitting on the edge of their seats for the last three innings, but in the end Hart County did something they had not done since 2017–beat Green County in softball. The Lady Raiders edged the Lady Dragons 5-4 on their field to give first-year coach Caitlyn (Prewitt) Smith, and her team something to cheer about.

“It was a total team effort,” Coach Smith said smiling after the game. “It feels amazing to get the win after coming off a four-game losing streak. The girls stayed up the whole time and believed in themselves, not caring who there playing, not caring about the other teams’ uniform, but just staying together and getting this big win…it is just amazing.”

“That’s all I can ask of this group,” Smith added.

Coach Smith said they made some errors, but the Lady Raiders kept their heads up. Smith praised the pitching performance of sophomore Allie Bussell. Smith said Bussell was “clutch” and made the pitches when she had to.

Smith also said the home run by freshman catcher, Chloe Tweedy, to get the Lady Raiders on the scoreboard first was huge, and gave them a shot of confidence.

Coach Smith praised senior 3rd baseman, Lorraine Riggs’ afternoon at the plate. Riggs went 3-for-4 with 2 doubles and scored 2 runs. “It feels amazing,” Riggs said after the win and the celebration with her teammates. “Every error we made, we still kept our heads up. We had each other’s backs. We never let the mistakes get us down.”

Riggs praised catcher, Chole Tweedy, and her home run and the job she did behind the plate. Riggs said that Bussell’s pitching was also “amazing.” “She (Bussell) puts in the work and she is the sweetest person in the world,” Riggs said. “Everyone played well. Everybody contributed to us getting the win.”

Coach Smith said the entire lineup had good at bats against Green County. “We fought every at bat and made their pitchers work hard,” she said. “That was another key to us getting the win. We put pressure on their defense just about every inning.”

Coach Smith said Brooke Puckett did a great job at the plate (2 hits) and on the base paths. “She (Puckett) was determined to score and did a great job reading that passed ball,” she said. “I’m just proud of the entire team.”

Puckett was still smiling after the game and after a trip to the concession stand. “Just go as fast as you can. Just score,” Puckett answered when asked what was on her mind while standing on 3rd base with the game on the line. “I knew if I got the chance, I was going for it (home plate).”

“Today, we all came together and played together,” Puckett said. “Coach Smith told us we could do it. We just needed to believe we could (beat Green County), and believe in each other. This was a great win and proved we could keep our heads up and win…we can play a good game against any team.”