Coming off losses to Smyrna and Columbia the previous night, the Marshall County Tigerettes (5-3) righted the ship on Saturday morning when they defeated a previously unbeaten Richland Lady Raider squad 3-2 in their final pool game of the Middle Tennessee Softball Coaches Association T

Tournament at Ridley Park in Columbia.

After MCHS jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, Richland (4-1) plated two runs in the top of the fifth inning to tie the contest at 2-2. The Tigerettes then pushed across a run in the bottom of the sixth to seize a 3-2 advantage before holding the Lady Raiders scoreless in the top of the seven to claim their fifth victory of the season.

"Richland is a great team so I was very excited to get the win," said Marshall County coach Holly Cook. "We did everything we needed to do today. We made all the plays defensively and pushed across a few runs."

Sophomore starting pitcher Grace Medley turned in a gutsy performance in the circle for the Tigerettes and limited the Lady Raiders usually potent lineup to just four hits and a walk in seven innings of work while notching three strikeouts en route to picking up the win.

"Grace did a great job and kept them off balance all day. She kept the ball low and hit her spots," said Cook.

MCHS, meanwhile, finished with six hits against Lady Raider starting pitcher Ashton Henderson, who suffered the loss. Shortstop Ashton Watkins led the Tigerettes at the plate by going 3-for-3 with two runs scored, while Austyn Whaley added two hits and a run scored. Katie Crabtree also had a hit and 3 RBI for Marshall County.

Kaylin Stacey doubled to account for Richland's lone extra base hit of the contest, while Merrianne Patterson (1 RBI), Kasey Currin (1 RBI), and Tabitha Scott all singled.

The Tigerettes got their bats going early, as they pushed across two runs in the bottom of the first inning to grab a 2-0 lead. After Moyers reached base on an error, Watkins and Whaley both singled to load the bases with one out. Moyers was then thrown out at home on a fielder's choice by Mecia Reed, before Crabtree smacked a two-run single into left field to drive in Watkins and Whaley.

Medley held the Lady Raiders hitless until the top of the fifth inning when Richland tallied two runs in the frame to knot the game at 2-2. Following a leadoff single by Scott, Shannon Higgins hit into a fielder's choice to replace Scott on the base paths prior to advancing to third on a double by Stacey. After Scott raced home on a RBI infield by Currin to trim the deficit to 2-1, Patterson laced a RBI single into leftfield to plate Stacey, but Currin was thrown out at third base on the play by MCHS leftfielder Madison Thomason to end the inning.

The Lady Raiders then stranded a runner at third in the top of the sixth, before Marshall County grabbed a 3-2 lead in the bottom half of the frame when Watkins scored on a RBI groundout by Crabtree after leading off the inning with a single and advancing to third on a Whaley single and a Reed sacrifice bunt.

Richland had a chance to retie the game in the top of the seventh when Stacey reached base on an error and advanced to third with two outs on two passed balls. Medley, however, extinguished the Lady Raider scoring threat by retiring Currin on a fly out to secure the victory for the Tigerettes.