Why Green Hill’s TSSAA Softball State Championship Loss Stung So Deeply
Murfreesboro — Melodies filled the air as music played from the speakers, and the audience was abuzz with excitement for the Class 1A event.
TSSAA softball
State championship match featuring Eagleville versus Hollow Rock-Bruceton.
Right next to the boundary beyond the outfield, virtually no sound at all can be heard.
The
Green Hill softball team
walked off the Middle Tennessee State softball field, slipped through a fence, gathered in a circle and collected their runner-up medals in tears and total silence. The Hawks’ 10-8 loss in extra innings to Walker Valley (36-8) in the Class 4A title game had said all that could be said.
This marks the second consecutive season that Green Hill (36-4-2) has been eliminated in the state tournament.
securing its very first state championship
In 2023, the previous season saw the Hawks being knocked out after only two matches. However, this year’s loss was even harder to bear — they had been so close to making it further.
Coach Savannah Sanders stated, “We were so close to winning the game. We failed to deliver when it mattered most.”
The Mustangs grabbed an early 4-0 advantage in the first inning through strategic play, managing to get the ball into fair territory outside the infield just once when a passed ball and an error helped contribute to their score. Meanwhile, Green Hill struggled with making multiple outs on the bases. In the seventh inning, with one out remaining, Vanessa Byers equalized the game with a grounder up the centerfield, yet the Hawks immediately had another opportunity to secure victory in the bottom of that frame but failed to capitalize due to leaving runners stranded at first and second. The Hawks then faltered again in the eighth inning when they were unable to make a proper relay throw home, which allowed Walker Valley to seize control of the game permanently.
“We did our best to claw our way back in it,” Sanders said. “Just kept shooting ourselves in the foot.”
That isn’t to say Sanders wasn’t proud of how Green Hill responded from falling behind, coming back to take the lead on a two-RBI triple by Reagan Walter in the bottom of the sixth. The Hawks had 16 hits and contributions from every part of the lineup, but their mistakes were too much to overcome.
“I think they’ve been the hardest-working team in the state this year,” Sanders said. “I hope they see that the work is worth it. It gave them the opportunity to play on the big stage because of what they did all year. That doesn’t mean you’re always going to be successful when you get here, but it does put you in the position.”
Green Hill, which last year graduated seven seniors who are now playing college softball, had just three seniors this season. Tennessee commit
Avary Stockwell
, who went 2-for-4 and hit her 25th home run of the season in the fifth inning, returns in 2026. Walter, Chezney Whipker and Keilyn Burns will be back to anchor the middle of the Hawks’ order along with Stockwell.
When we return in August, the real work begins,” Sanders stated. “While they can use this time to savor their summer and participate in traveling teams, once we reconvene in August, our objective will be to secure a spot back here again.
Jacob Shames can be contacted via email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter using @Jacob_Shames.
The article initially appeared in the Nashville Tennessean.
Why the TSSAA softball state championship defeat was particularly agonizing for Green Hill
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