Fort Campbell High School was four outs away from its first 2-0 start to a Kentucky high school softball season in 16 years on Monday, but ultimately dropped a 12-11 heartbreaker to Clarksville West Creek in Tennessee.
The host Coyotes — a squad that defeated Clarksville (TN) Northeast in a wild 26-24 shootout on March 11 — trailed 9-4 after four innings and was down 11-5 as the roller coaster-of-a-game dipped into the bottom of the sixth inning. But that’s when the high-powered West Creek offense struck for six runs to tie it. Aniya Sims eventually singled and scored the walk-off run in the seventh on one of eight Falcon errors.
It was a balanced attack for Fort Campbell, which banged out 12 hits and drew 14 walks on the road. Senior Jordan Wilkerson and eighth-grader Tristin Caldwell finished with identical nights at the plate for the Falcons. Both went 3-for-3 with a run, three RBIs and two walks. Wilkerson’s single gave FCHS the first lead of the contest in the first inning; she struck again with a two-run single in the fourth that had the Coyotes suddenly starting at a 7-4 deficit.
Caldwell made it 9-4 with a two-run base hit of her own on the very next pitch, and Fort Campbell appeared on the verge of winning its second straight game to begin a season since April 2008 when Amare Moore’s two-out triple brought home Baylee Backs to put the Falcons ahead 11-5 after 5.5 innings.
Things would take a turn in the bottom of the sixth, however, as Alexis Reney’s lead-off triple kick-started West Creek’s momentum and eventually led to five straight Coyotes reaching base to start the frame. A passed ball cut Fort Campbell’s lead to two, a ground-ball error pulled WCHS within one, and a two-out passed ball tied it at 11-all.
FCHS tried for a rally of its own in the last inning, when Wilkerson and Caldwell earned back-to-back bases on balls. The duo even advanced to second and third, but Audate managed to strike out the final three batters to end the threat. In the bottom half of the seventh, Simons singled, stole second and third, and raced home on a Falcon miscue for the game winner.
Moore finished 2-for-3 with three runs, two RBIs, two walks and two stolen bases in the leadoff spot for Fort Campbell. She also struck out a dozen during six innings of work in the circle, but also allowed six hits, five walks and 11 runs (six earned) in her second start. Hailey Herron (0-1) took the loss by pitching the final inning in Clarksville.
Audate was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run. She also took the pitching victory for West Creek (2-0) after throwing the final three innings in relief. She struck out six, walked seven and gave up just one hit and a run to keep Fort Campbell relatively at bay after exploding early. Paityn Swift threw the first four innings and allowed 11 hits, 10 runs and seven walks to go with four K’s.
FCHS (1-1), which is playing all of its games on the road in 2024, will be in Elkton for a showdown with Todd County Central (0-1) at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Falcons will be searching for their first win over the Rebels since 2007.
