By WAYNE PHILLIPS

Sports Editor

For the first time since the early days of softball being recognized as a TSSAA-sanctioned sport, Greene County will be represented in the state tournament.

North Greene's Lady Huskies punched their ticket to next week's "Spring Fling" in Murfreesboro by beating Coalfield in a 1-0 thriller Friday afternoon before a large, vocal and shivering crowd at the NGHS softball field.

It will be the first time a team from Greene County has made it to the state tournament since the TSSAA instituted "Spring Fling" several years ago. "Spring Fling" brings together teams from across the state to compete for state championships in baseball, softball, tennis, soccer and track. West Greene finished as state runnerup in 1981, when the title was determined in a best two-out-of-three series, and North Greene was state runnerup in 1979.

"It's just incredible," a breathless Huskies Coach Beverly Fletcher said after her team pushed across the game's only run on back-to-back hits by Sam Weems and Lindsey Darnell in the bottom of the sixth inning. It was the only two hits that the Huskies collected the entire game.

"We got only two hits, but they came together and they came at a good time," she said. "I'm just so very proud of these girls. They deserve to go to state. They've worked hard and they've played some very good softball these last two weeks."

The game was a classic pitcher's duel. Junior North Greene hurler Tosha Hall was tough, allowing only three hits, striking out five, walking two and hitting one batter. She was backed by a defense that played flawlessly with no errors, and Fletcher credited the play of third baseman Brittany McGhee as "huge."

"She's my hero tonight," Fletcher said. "Her play at third base was a huge part of this win. She caught everything that came her way. And Tosha just pitched another great game for us."

McGhee was involved in making nine defensive stops, nabbing seven grounders and two fly balls.

Coalfield pitcher Lindsey Fadnek, only an eighth grader, was as good as advertised. She kept the hard-swinging Huskies at bay until the sixth. She had 12 strikeouts and walked only one.

"She's very good," Fletcher said. "She's got a riser that's really hard to do anything with. But we finally caught up with her in the sixth."

Fadnek was so dominant she had allowed only one base runner through 5 2/3 innings, and that was a lead-off walk to Katy Harrison in the second. With the first two batters retired in the sixth, it appeared as if this game would go on for awhile as neither pitcher blinked.

But Sam Weems drilled a hard shot to right field for the Huskies' first hit, and the ball skidded past the right fielder and went to the fence. Weems never stopped running until she reached third.

Junior Lindsey Darnell followed that up with a blast that cleared the center fielder's head and rolled to the fence for a triple, and Weems trotted home with the all-important run.

"I could just feel it," Darnell grinned when talking about her key two-out hit. "She's (Fadnek) a really good pitcher, but I knew when I hit it that I caught it pretty good. This is just a great feeling, to make the state tournament."

The Yellow Jackets had threatened in the first inning when lead-off hitter Kaylee Watson reached on a walk, went to second on a passed ball, and trotted to third on a wild pitch. With nobody out, chances of Coalfield getting on the board seemed good.

But McGhee came up with her first big defensive play of the game, spearing a line drive off the bat of Fadnek. Then Darnell, playing center, caught a hard line drive up the middle by Erika Foster and Watson, thinking the ball was going to drop, didn't tag up and had to retreat to the bag.

Hall then got the third out on a bouncer back to the mound, and the threat was over. Coalfield never got a runner past second the rest of the game.

Alina Jordan got the Jackets' first hit, and the first hit of the game, with a single to left in the fifth. She also collected a two-out single in the seventh and final inning, but Hall retired pinch hitter Chanda Barry on a bouncer back to the hill, and the Huskies were state tournament bound.

The Huskies will join seven over Class A teams from across the state in Murfreesboro on Tuesday. Their first game will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Pairings are expected to be announced today by the TSSAA.

CHS AB R H NG AB R H

Watson,cf 2 0 0 Weems,lf 3 1 1

Fadnek,p 2 0 0 Darnell,cf 3 0 1

E.Foster,3b 3 0 1 Hall,p 3 0 0

A.Foster,c 3 0 0 Har'son,c 1 0 0

Armes,1b 3 0 0 McGhee,3b 2 0 0

Jones,2b 2 0 0 Adams,ss 2 0 0

Cox,dh 2 0 0 Payne,rf 2 0 0

Jackson,rf 0 0 0 Vallie,2b 2 0 0

Jordan,ss 3 0 2 Cobb,1b 2 0 0

Landrum,lf 2 0 0

Barry,ph 1 0 0

TOTALS 23 0 3 TOTALS 20 1 2

3b Hits: NG-Darnell. WP: Hall. LP: Fadnek.

Score by innings:

Coalfield 000 000 0--0 3

North Greene 000 001 x--1 2