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NEWPORT — Trailing 1-0 entering the second, West’s lineup flipped at the perfect time, setting the table for Eva Boudier and Kaylynn Milton.

The bottom of the order provided the spark as Blayne Parker ripped a double to the right field gap with one out, and Alyssa Sizemore reached on an error. The order flipped, and leadoff hitter Boudier stepped up to the plate with two on.

Boudier singled Parker home, and Kara Dyke was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Milton, who cleared the bases with a double to give West an early lead.

The same script played out in the third.

Mackenzie Lucky walked, Sizemore singled, and Sydney Mendez doubled in a run, again putting Boudier at the plate with two runners in scoring position. Boudier delivered again, ripping a two-run double to extend the lead as West pulled away for a 7-3 win over Cocke County.

“It can be the difference in the game when the bottom of your lineup produces,” West head coach Chad Parker said. “Sydney had a huge hit down the line. When they get on, then we’ve got the top of our lineup coming back up, and they usually don’t miss when they have runners in scoring position, which they didn’t.”

Boudier finished with two hits and three RBIs, while Milton had one hit and three RBIs. All but two Lady Trojans recorded a hit in a nine-hit effort against a strong Cocke County pitching staff.

While the duo of Ellie Proffitt and Hailee Hartsell combined for 12 strikeouts, West was able to get a rally going on Proffitt early, who allowed seven hits. Hartsell came in for the second half of the game and shut down the Lady Trojans, allowing just two hits and no runs on six K’s.

“They got two great pitchers,” Parker said. “We knew that coming in. We wanted to schedule them because they’re equal to the pitchers of the district teams that we play, and you know, it was great competition for us to come in here and see what we could do. We got started there in the second inning with Blaine hitting a double. And then, like I’ve said before, it just gets contagious. We started getting hit after hit. Scored four runs and then three.”

The Trojans cooled down offensively in terms of run support, but Dyke and Lucky were able to halt any comeback effort. Though Dyke accounted for both of West’s strikeouts, the two were able to force groundouts and pop-ups, and the defense behind them got the job done.

“Both of them pitched well,” Parker said. “We went into the game tonight wanting to pitch both pitchers. We’ve got our first district tournament game on Thursday, so I didn’t want either to go the full game. So they did a good job splitting the game and got the win.”

The Lady Red struck first in the bottom of the opening frame as Hartsell grounded into a fielder’s choice to score one.

West responded with their four-run second inning to make it 4-1, but Cocke County fired right back. Proffitt singled in a run and Brookelyn Strange scored another with a double to cut it to 4-3.

However, West was able to put in three runs in the top of the third, and the score stuck at 7-3 for the remainder of the evening.

The Lady Red, now 27-7, hosted Karns on Tuesday and will travel to North Greene to close their season.

West closes the year at 23-10 and enters the district tournament on Thursday against Science Hill at West Ridge.

“I think if we pitch, play defense and hit when we need to, like we did tonight, good things are going to happen,” Parker said. “Doesn’t guarantee a win, but if we play Thursday night, like we played tonight, I’ll be happy with it.”