CCS prevails, Baylor stumbles on day 1 of DII-AA Spring Fling Softball Tournament

BY JEFF CATE (TEAM FYN SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR)

Chattanooga Christian and Baylor have met for the Division II-Class AA softball championship at Spring Fling the past two seasons. The Lady Chargers advanced to their third straight championship game, looking for the first softball title in school history. But a new challenger awaits as Baylor lost 2 games on Wednesday in Murfreesboro & ended the Lady Red Raiders season.

CCS’ 4-2 victory over St. Benedict and Baylor’s 8-4 triumph over Lipscomb Academy set the stage for round 3 between the Lady Chargers & the Lady Red Raiders this season. Baylor’s win over Lipscomb would be the 22nd straight state tournament victory & were coming into Spring Fling looking for their tenth consecutive state title. Baylor swept both regular season series meetings and had prevailed in seven of the last eight meetings between the two programs, the third time proved to be the charm for CCS.

After falling behind 6-1 going into the bottom of the fifth inning, the Lady Chargers would score 7 unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth innings while holding Baylor to zero for a stunning 8-6 victory. The comeback was capped off in the bottom of the seventh when Kylie Black would notch her twelfth strikeout on the afternoon, striking out Chole Cunningham and sending Chattanooga Christian to the championship round. Chattanooga Mocs commit Hannah Smith and Nyla Halfacre would combine to go 6 of 7 from the plate while Ella Claire Chaffin and Mary Katherine Flowers had two RBI’s each to the lead the Lady Chargers from the batter’s box. The win was also the first time since May 11 of 2023 that CCS had defeated the Lady Red Raiders.

Baylor would still have a chance to get back to the championship, but they would need to knock off St. Benedict in an elimination game. The game would not go the distance as a twelve-run 2nd inning proved to be the nail in the coffin as the Lady Eagles would add two more runs for a convincing 14-0 victory in five innings. The loss ends Baylor’s nine year run as Division II-AA state champions and this year will mark the first time since 2009 that the Lady Red Raiders will not finish first or second at the state tournament.

Chattanooga Christian has to win one game over St. Benedict to bring state championship hardware back to the Scenic City. The Lady Chargers’ first opportunity at that will be at 11am eastern Thursday at MTSU’s Blue Raider Softball Field. If the Lady Eagles win the matchup, then winner-take-all final game will take place at 4pm.

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