Nashville scored three unanswered runs to edge out Sparta 3-2 in the semifinals of the Waltonville 2A Softball Regional Tuesday.
The Lady Bulldogs out-hit Nashville 8-to-6 and grabbed the early lead with two runs in the top of the fourth.
Shanell Robert drove in the game’s first run and then later scored on a double by Alexis Kohrs.
The lead would be short-lived, however, as Nashville scored a single run in the bottom of the fourth and added two in the fifth.
Sparta threatened to rally in the seventh, as they loaded the bases with two-outs but couldn’t get the clutch hit.
Sparta 15, Waltonville 2
The Sparta Lady Bulldogs opened the post season with a 15-2 shellacking of Waltonville. 
Sparta scored a first inning run before busting the game wide open with fourteen runs over the next three innings capped off with a walk-off grand slam by Jenalee Stine in the bottom of the fifth inning.
The game started when leadoff hitter Jamie Woodworth was hit by a pitch and advanced around to third on a sacrifice bunt by Corrie Opolka. Woodworth later scored on a single by Julian Sroka.
Sparta stretched the lead to 4-0 with a three run third inning when Opolka led off with a single and scored on a Shanell Roberts two-run home run. Katelyn Blount scored on a two-out single by Jade Vaughn.
Five consecutive hits to start the five-run fourth inning put the game out of reach as Woodworth, Opolka, Sroka, Roberts all contributed and Kohrs brought in three with a home run. Opolka and Stine each had home runs in the six-run fifth inning for the win.
“I’m really happy for us to be able to close out our home field with a win like that,” said Sparta coach Roger Gerlach. “This was one of the games earlier this season that got away from us and we really came out of the gates today with a little fire in the belly. It’s nice to see the response.”
Alexis Kohrs went the distance striking out 10 while walking one. Her record improves to 17-6 as the overall team record moves to 19-7.