SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. – Despite a late rally from the Shelbyville Central Golden Eaglettes (0-10, 0-1) against Cookeville (4-5, 1-0) in the District 6-AAAA opener, the hosts came up just two runs short, 9-7, on Tuesday night.

Alissa Robb got the start in the circle for the Eaglettes and first-year Head Coach Kailey Snell, pitching a complete 7.0 innings on 93 pitches. Robb gave up nine runs – six earned – on 12 hits and four walks while striking out one batter. Shelbyville Central committed four errors in the field.

For the Lady Cavaliers, Racquelle Abril pitched a complete 7.0 innings as well, giving up seven earned runs on 10 hits and five walks while striking out just three batters on 134 pitches. Cookeville committed just one error in the field.

The visitors got the scoring started early with a pair of runs in the top of the first and three more in the top of the second to take a 5-0 lead, but the Eaglettes showed some fight at the plate starting in the bottom of the second.

Shelbyville Central scored one run in the second inning, then after Robb put held the Lady Cavs scoreless in the top of the third, the Eaglettes added two more runs in the home half to trim the lead to 5-3. 

Cookeville responded with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth, and Abril prevented the hosts from doing any more damage on the scoreboard in the next two innings. The Lady Cavs tacked on one more run in the top of the sixth to take an 8-3 lead, and then the rally began. Shelbyville Central scored two runs to trim the lead to 8-5, but were only able to muster up two more runs in the bottom of the seventh, coming up just two runs short of securing their first win of the season.

At the plate for the Eaglettes, Janiya Leslie batted 1-for-4 with a double, Laila Lauderdale went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, and Jazzlynn Nowlin finished 1-for-4 with one RBI. Ja’Mya Anderson went 2-for-3 with a walk and one RBI, Mariah Nowlin finished 2-for-3 with a run scored, Maci Lovvorn batted 1-for-1 with one RBI, and Ali Rippy finished 1-for-3 with an RBI-triple and a walk.

Shelbyville Central’s next district matchup is against Lincoln County at home on Monday, Mar. 30 at 7:00 p.m.