William Blount passes test, downs The King's Academy

MARYVILLE — William Blount High School felt like it needed to prove something to itself.

Eight games had come and gone, but in their biggest test of the young season, the Lady Governors wanted to know exactly where they stood.

Turns out they faired just fine.

William Blount took an early lead Thursday and never relinquished it, defeating The King’s Academy 4-2.

“They put the uniform on just like we do,” William Blount coach Amanda Leatherwood said. “We try not to play up and down for teams, but it’s a real struggle sometimes. There are certain programs that you know are good, and several of their girls have signed (to play in college), so we knew this was our first true test.

“We’ve played nine games now, and none better than King’s Academy. We just wanted to see where we were rolling into district play and see if we can do this, and the answer is yes.”

The defending Division II-A state champions entered with an unblemished 5-0 record, including a victory over defending Class A state champion Meigs County on Tuesday, but on Thursday little went the Lady Lions' way.

The King’s Academy recorded only seven hits, three of which came in the final two innings as it attempted to climb out of an early 4-0 hole.

“Give kudos to them,” Weekly said. “Our kids did not come out ready to play and I think they think they are better than they are. It was good to get knocked down a little bit.”

William Blount began building that early lead with two runs in the first inning off RBI singles from Brooke McMahan and Kadie Buchanan after escaping a bases-loaded jam in the top half of the inning.

An RBI single by Madison Henry followed in the second and McKenzie Henry tacked on the Lady Governors’ final run in the third with a solo home run to left field.

“To get out of that and not cave under pressure was really important,” Leatherwood said. “We’re not necessarily a young team, but it’s new chemistry. We graduated four studs last year, and this was a test to see if we are keeping on throughout our program. They wanted to prove that to everyone. Everybody thought we’d fall down, but they wanted to be like ‘Here we are. We’re ready.’ ”

Junior pitcher Kelsey Darnell tossed a complete game in a winning effort for William Blount, surrendering two runs — one earned — on seven hits. Freshman Kaylan Cole settled down after the first three innings, allowing just two baserunners in her final three innings.