UNIONVILLE, Tenn. –After going down 2-0 in the third inning, the No. 1 seeded Community Viqueens (25-7, 7-0) dug deep to tie the game at 2-2 before eventually going on to walk off No. 4 seed Chapel Hill (15-17, 3-5) in extras for the 3-2 win in the final elimination game of the District 9-AA Tournament to advance to the Region 5-AA Tournament.

“I have to start with [Chapel Hill pitcher] Taylor Moreland,” Viqueens’ Head Coach Cam Farrell said postgame, “She’s always going to pitch pretty good, but she was something else tonight. That’s about the best I’ve ever seen her pitch, and she controlled us. We just couldn’t string anything together. She came in on a mission and just about got it done. I’ve watched her pitch for a long time and I’ve never seen her that dominant.”

Moreland pitched 7.1 innings, giving up just three earned runs on nine hits while striking out eight batters on 107 pitches. She was tagged with four walks, but all four were intentional passes handed out to Community slugger Mattie Maxey, who launched a pair of home runs in Tuesday’s loss against Summertown. Moreland didn’t give up a single run until the bottom of the seventh, and before then she had surrendered just six hits across six innings.

“Our girls just hung in there. There weren't any big speeches, we just had to find a way and figure it out. We just kept fighting. I told them to not forget who they are and what they can do.”

After the loss against Summertown, Farrell made some lineup changes, including starting a little-used freshman at the bottom of the order in Hayden Moore. Before Thursday, Moore had recorded just eight plate appearances on the season, but she produced two of the most important hits of the night in the seventh and eighth innings.

First, Moore led off with an infield single to third base in the seventh before swiping second base. Thanks to Community’s aggressiveness on the basepaths, after Anna Haskins grounded out to second, instead of a rally-killing double play, Moore advanced to third with one out. 

“Her [Hayden Moore] leadoff single in the seventh was huge,” Farrell said, “I always tell them, just be ready to go when you’re called, and she was ready to go. She’s an athlete, and she wants to do well. I wasn’t nervous or afraid to put her in, and she was locked in for the moment. I didn’t look at her and feel like she was nervous, I felt like she was ready to go.”

Kamryn Farrell drove Moore home with a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 2-1, but the Viqueens were down to their final out with Gracie Daniel at the plate.

Daniel, who was 1-for-3 on the night before the seventh, kept Community’s season alive with a double into right field to get into scoring position. After Chapel Hill intentionally walked Maxey for the fourth time, Haylee Webb came through with a 2-out RBI-single on a line drive into center field to tie the game at 2-2.

Annie Prince stranded runners at first and second in the top of the eighth, bringing her offense back to the plate with a chance to walk off the Lady Rockets.

Prince led off with a lineout to second, but then Alana Tate grounded a single into left before Moore hustled out a base hit on a bunt to give the Viqueens runners at first and third with one out with Anna Haskins at the plate. Haskins grounded to first, but the ball was not hit hard enough for an inning-ending double play. Chapel Hill went home, but Tate was too quick to the plate and slid in safely for the season-saving walk-off win for the hometown Viqueens.

“This is huge,” Farrell said, “I couldn’t tell you anything about the other side [of the region] because we were so locked in to making it out of this district. In the past, we knew it was going to be us and Chapel Hill and we could plan a little ahead for the region tournament. This year, it could have been us, Chapel Hill, Cascade, Summertown, anybody could spark at the right time and get it done. I was completely focused on the fact that we just had to get out of the district.”

Kamryn Farrell got the start in the circle for the Viqueens, getting through 2.1 innings of work before the Rockets put up a pair of unearned runs to knock her from the game. Farrell gave up just one hit while walking three batters on 41 pitches. Annie Prince came on in relief, and she shut out the Lady Rockets over the final 5.2 innings, giving up just two hits with one intentional walk while striking out seven batters on 90 pitches.

At the plate for Community, Anna Haskins led off going 0-for-5 with the game-winning RBI, Farrell went 0-for-3 with an RBI, and Daniel finished 2-for-4 with a run scored and a double. Maxey did not register an at-bat due to being intentionally walked all four times, Haylee Webb went 2-for-4 with the game-tying RBI, and Kailani Allen finished 1-for-4. Prince went 1-for-4, Tate was 1-for-4, and Moore finished 2-for-4. 

The Viqueens advance to the District 9-AA Championship Game with a rematch against Summertown on deck at 5:30 p.m. If Community wins, there will be a second game immediately following to decide the District 9-AA Tournament Champion.