What Huntingdon softball felt on other side of first perfect game in a TSSAA title game
MURFREESBORO — Tears couldn’t stop flowing from the Huntingdon softball team.
Parents were hugging players, teammates consoling one another. Some of the girls weeping. Moms and dads were crying with their daughters through a tight embrace.
All in a bitter disappointment following a 1-0 loss to Liberty Creek in the TSSAA softball Class 2A state championship Friday at MTSU’s Blue Raider softball field.
It came after Liberty Creek pitcher Kaylor West threw the first perfect game in a TSSAA state tournament since Waverly Central’s Alley Brown threw a perfect game against Union City on, coincidentally, May 24, 2016. That was early in the tournament. This marked the first in a TSSAA softball championship game.
“She’s a great pitcher,” said Huntingdon coach Alicia Warbritton. “There’s nothing to take away from that. Our girls put up some good at bats and just hit it right to them.”
Fillies hitters struck out just five times in the loss. One ball left the infield in the fourth inning that would have been extra bases for catcher Josie Sanders.
One of the stars of the tournament was Huntingdon senior pitcher Natalie Kreuziger. The UT-Martin signee racked up 49 strikeouts in four starts, including a 19-strikeout performance in the opener against Westmoreland.
Kreuziger struck out six on Friday and allowed just one hit, an RBI double for Maisen Lewis.
The state tournament was a near-perfect send off for the entire senior class, led by Kreuziger In the circle and Sanders behind the plate.
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“(Kreuziger) duked it out against every one of their batters she faced,” Warbritton said. “Our defense was real strong behind her and we had great at-bats. Just wasn’t ours today.”
Kreuziger’s strikeout tally won’t show up on the TSSAA record boards or take the sting away out of losing a state championship. She’s thankful, and most of all, proud of her Fillies (24-5-1) .
“This being our last game, it’s tough,” Kreuziger said. “We’ve grown up together. It’s been a heck of a ride and I wouldn’t want to end it with anybody else.”
Austin Chastain is a high school sports writer covering West Tennessee. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ChastainAJ or email him at achastain@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Huntingdon softball in tears after perfect game in TSSAA state championship
