JP Productions Sports

  Next Stop Oklahoma City There is an old saying in baseball and softball: "great pitching stops good hitting." That is exactly what happened in Knoxville in the Super Regional matchup between Tennessee and Georgia. The UT pitching staff muffled and silenced a red hot Georgia offense and the Lady Vols swept two games to punch their ticket to Oklahoma City and the College World Series. Tennessee smacked three solo homers in the opener on Thursday evening and Karlyn Pickens took care of business, striking out 10 Bulldog batters in the 3-1 win. It got scary in the seventh when Georgia loaded the bases with just one out but Pickens fanned the next two batters to secure the triumph. On Friday, it was another nail biter but junior Sage Mardjetko, who relieved Erin Nuwer in the second inning, kept the Georgia bats at bay in the 2-1 verdict. Pickens had been warming up in the bullpen but she was not needed to finish the contest that propelled UT back to OKC. Centerfielder Sophia Knig...

  Jason Peevyhouse Editor, JP Productions Sports The Dyer County baseball season came to a close on Thursday afternoon, falling 7-2 to the Chargers at Covington in the second game of the TSSAA Class 3A Sectional Series. The Chargers picked up a trio of runs in the top of the third to lead by three after just a half inning. The game remained a 3-0 game until the top of the fifth when the Chargers doubled their lead with another three-run inning to take a 6-0 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth. After Covington added one more run in the seventh, Dyer County finally broke up Covington’s no-hit bid with a one-out single from Seth Headtke. Back-to-back walks from Weston Sims and Jake Wenzler loaded the bases as a third straight walk from Landon Daniels put the Choctaws on the board. Two batters later, Gunner Travis scored on a wild pitch before Talon Messer walked. But, the Chargers got the next batter to strike out and end the game, punching their ticket to the TSSAA Cl...

  High School Baseball TSSAA Class 3A Sectional Series, Game 1: Covington 4, Dyer County 2 Middle School Softball TMSAA Class A Softball Championship Game: Northview 7, Wartburg Central 2

  Jason Peevyhouse Editor, JP Productions Sports If the Choctaw baseball team is to make the TSSAA Class 3A State Tournament set for next week in Murfreesboro, Dyer County will have to battle back from behind as the orange and white fell in Game 1 of the Class 3A Sectional Series to the Chargers on Wednesday evening in Covington. All four runs for Covington came in the bottom of the first inning as the Chargers took a 4-0 lead after one inning. After being held hitless through the first two innings, Dyer County got on the board in the top of the third inning. But, they did so without a hit as Nate Vick reached on an error then scored on a wild pitch later in the inning as the Choctaws cut the Covington lead to 4-1 after two and a half innings. The Choctaws’ first hit finally came in the top of the fifth inning as Landon Daniels led off with a single. Talon Messer also singled two batters later but the two were stranded on the bases along with Carson Nevels after a groundo...

  Jason Peevyhouse Editor, JP Productions Sports After coming up just a couple runs short two years earlier, the Northview softball team completed its season with the biggest crown in the TMSAA, defeating Wartburg Central 7-2 on Wednesday afternoon at Frost Stadium in Chattanooga for the Class A State Championship – the first in school history for softball. Northview Head Coach Chris Thone talked about the keys to the championship win. “Staying focused and not losing sight of the goal that was in mind,” Thone explained. “The girls never waivered from maybe an error they committed or the other team scoring a run. “They never let loose of that goal that was in their minds.” The Choctaws got on the board with a big first inning. With two on and no out, Landri Stewart doubled in both runners to put Northview on the board. Harper Peery, one of two players who started in the state championship game two years ago, followed with an RBI single to help her own cause in the circle...

  Jason Peevyhouse Editor, JP Productions Sports For the second time in three seasons, the Northview Middle School softball team will play for a TMSAA Class A State Championship as the Choctaws defeated the Robertson Innovation Middle School Sentinels 4-3 on Tuesday afternoon at Frost Stadium in Chattanooga. After holding the Sentinels scoreless in the top of the first inning, Northview got on the board in the bottom of the frame. Braelyn Fowler drew a one-out walk then Landri Stewart tripled in a run to put Northview on top 1-0 after an inning. Robertson tied the game in the top of the second, 1-1, after an inning and a half. Northview reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the third inning. With two outs, Harper Peery doubled in a run to put the Choctaws out in front again. Anna Reid Yates followed with an RBI single which led to another run scoring on an error on the play to extend the Northview lead to 3-1 after three innings. The Sentinels got one of those runs back i...

  Jason Peevyhouse Editor, JP Productions Sports After being shutout early, the Choctaws battled back to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth only to have McNairy Central answer with a five-run top of the fifth on the way to a 9-2 win over the orange and white in Newbern to end Dyer County’s softball season. McNairy’s bats were alive early, getting two straight hits to open the game. But, a one-out RBI single from Chanley Steele was the only scoring the Lady Bobcats got to take a 1-0 lead after one inning. While holding the Choctaws to just a one-out walk in the bottom of the first, Lady Bobcats were able to add a run in the top of the third as Steele reached on an error to score a run and extend the McNairy lead to 2-0 after two and a half innings. Another 1-2-3 inning kept Dyer County off the board but the Choctaws worked around a one-out single in the top of the fourth to keep within striking distance of the Lady Bobcats. In the bottom of the fourth, Katie Beth C...

  Tournament Time on the Diamond The Tennessee Softball team is hoping to make a deep run in the SEC tournament this week in Lexington, Kentucky. The SoftVols let an opportunity to get a double bye slip away by committing two costly defensive miscues in the bottom of the sixth inning and lost the third game at Missouri. Tennessee is scheduled to face the winner of the first-round contest between Ole Miss and South Carolina. UT's opener is set for 4 p.m. Wednesday and the game will be televised on the SEC network. A victory would then propel Tennessee into a Thursday showdown with the defending national champions, Texas, at 4 p.m. with the SEC network handling the broadcast. The softball pitching staff is No. 1 in college softball statistics with an earned run average of 1.30. All three of the front line pitchers, Sage Mardjetko, Erin Nuwer and Karlyn Pickens are in the top 10 on the charts this year. Tennessee needs to win at least two, maybe three games in this tournament. The pro...

  Monday, May 11 McNairy Central at Dyer County (Region 7-3A Semifinals) (Softball, 6:15 p.m.) Wednesday, May 13 Dyer County at Covington (TSSAA Class 3A Sectional Series, Game 1) (Baseball, 6:30 p.m.) Thursday, May 14 Dyer County at Covington (TSSAA Class 3A Sectional Series, Game 2) (Baseball, 4:30 p.m.) Dyer County at Covington (TSSAA Class 3A Sectional Series, Game 3, if necessary) (Baseball, 7 p.m.)

  Jason Peevyhouse Editor, JP Productions Sports The Dyer County Choctaws are two wins away from returning to the TSSAA Class 3A State Tournament for the first time in two years after the orange and white bounced back from a loss in the Region 7-3A title game on Saturday afternoon at Henderson. The Choctaws came back later in the day to take down Lexington 6-4 in the region consolation bracket final. The Choctaws got on the board in the bottom of the first inning with a run to take the lead. Landon Daniels led off the frame with a single then scored on an error to put the orange and white on top 1-0 after one inning. Dyer County doubled its lead in the bottom of the second. Carson Nevels led off the frame with a walk then scored later in the frame on an error to put Dyer County on top 2-0 after two innings. The Choctaw offense broke through with multiple runs in the bottom of the following frame. Jake Stanley reached on a one-out error then scored on a Seth Headtke single...

  Jason Peevyhouse Editor, JP Productions Sports After falling behind early to Chester County in the semifinals of the Region 7-3A Tournament on Friday evening in Henderson, the Choctaws scored five unanswered runs on the way to a 5-2 win on the Eagles home field. The win earned Dyer County a spot in Saturday’s Region 7-3A Championship Game at Henderson against Crockett County at noon. Chester County got on the board first with runs in the first and third innings to take a 2-0 lead after three innings. In the top of the fourth inning, Dyer County finally broke through. The Choctaws were held hitless through the first three innings before Carson Nevels one-out single in the top of the fourth broke up Chester County’s no-hit bit. The singles then began to come as Seth Headtake followed with a base hit before an Easton Ozment single tied the game at 2-2 before the Eagles got out of the frame with a pair of outs. Dyer County pulled out in front in the top of the following i...

  High School Baseball Region 7-3A Semifinals: Dyer County 5, Chester County 2 Middle School Softball TMSAA Class A Sectional: Northview 16, JP Freeman 0

  Jason Peevyhouse Editor, JP Productions Sports For once, Dyer County did it the easy way, capping off a District 13-3A Championship with a 10-0 win over Crockett County on Monday night in Alamo, completing a three-game sweep of the competition. The Choctaws got on the board early after getting out of a small jam in the top of the first inning. With two outs in the bottom of the first, Rylee Key singled then Allie Ables reached on an error. Emma Wray doubled in both to put Dyer County on top 2-0 after an inning. Dyer County pitcher Ava Hart and the Choctaw defense allowed just a two-out single before getting out of the top of the second with the shutout still intact. The Choctaw offense rewarded them in the bottom of the second with two more runs. Again with two outs, Natalie Armstrong drew a walk then Kierstyn Ray singled and Katie Beth Caldwell walked to load the bases. Key came up big again with a two-run single to double the Dyer County lead at 4-0 after two frames. ...

  High School Baseball District 13-3A Tournament Consolation Final: Dyer County 11, South Gibson 3 District 13-3A Tournament Championship Game: Crockett County 7, Dyer County 4 High School Softball District 13-3A Tournament Championship Game: Dyer County 10, Crockett County 0 District 14-1A Tournament Consolation Bracket: Lake County 7, Gleason 6 District 14-1A Tournament Consolation Bracket: Dresden 13, Lake County 2 High School Soccer District 13AA Tournament Semifinals: South Gibson 3, Dyersburg 0 Middle School Softball Northview 9, Martin 4

  Monday, May 4 Dyer County vs. South Gibson (District 13-3A Tournament Consolation Final) (Baseball, 4:30 p.m.) Dyer County vs. South Gibson/Crockett County winner (District 13-3A Tournament Championship Game) (Softball, 7 p.m.) Dyersburg vs. South Gibson (District 13AA Tournament Semifinals) (Boys Soccer, 5 p.m.)