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Powered by the right arm of sophomore pitcher Teri Richey, the Lady Troopers handed two-time defending state champion and previously unbeaten Nettleton a 4-2 loss Tuesday on its home field in a Division 2-3A showdown.
"That was a big road win for this team," said Mooreville coach Perry Wilburn, whose teams were 0-4 the last two seasons in the series. "Nettleton's one of the best teams in the area.
"Our kids played well. I thought Teri (Richey) did a great job for a sophomore in this atmosphere."
Richey struck out seven, walked two and scattered four hits for Mooreville (12-3, 3-0 division) to improve to 7-1 on the mound. She sent the Lady Tigers down in order in the first four innings and had a no-hitter working until Korie Beth Leach doubled with one out in the fifth.
"This was a big, big win," Richey said, then smiled. "Ever since I started playing this rivalry has been huge. This was big."
Richey used her fastball, a breaking ball and a change-up to keep the Tigers off balance in the early going.
Nettleton (11-1, 2-1), down 4-0, scored two runs on a double by Kaleigh Tackett to left center field in the fifth inning.
"(Richey) did a great job," Nettleton coach Chris Kidd said. "She threw strikes, moved the ball around well. We didn't do a good job making adjustments.
"We waited until the fifth inning to play the game. We didn't step up to the challenge."
Mooreville took a 2-0 lead in the first, scoring a pair of unearned runs on two-out singles by Lauren Lewis and Betsy Kingsley off starter Michele Hester, who recorded eight strikeouts and walked two.
The Lady Troopers added two more runs in the third on another RBI single by Lewis and a bases-loaded walk by Tanner Bevill.
The four runs would be enough for Richey and her error-free defense on this chilly afternoon.
"We need coming in Nettleton had a good club and could hit the ball," she said. "I didn't do anything, really. I knew I had my defense behind me. They kept me up."