Their [Taylar Wessner and Carlie Blanton] impact was great and they are both going to be extremely missed...They never left the field.”

Viqueens Head Coach Cam Farrell

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Community Viqueens (32-6-2, 8-0) saw their 2025 season come to a close at the hands of the Liberty Creek Wolves (31-2, 8-0), 12-1 after five innings, in the TSSAA Class AA State Semifinals at Starplex Field #3 on Thursday afternoon.

“I think the best way to say this is, the steak was cooked to perfection, it was put on the table, and we didn’t get to taste it,” said Viqueens’ head coach Cam Farrell. “I think those girls will be hungry, and I think the ones that are for real and about it, they’ll get after it, and they’ll come back ready to go. I think it’s also gonna force some of the ones that weren’t playing to level up and come out here and get to it.”

The Viqueens committed a total of 12 errors, bringing their total up to 17 in the two games against the Wolves. Conversely, they committed just one in the other two games combined. 

“Tons of errors man, we can’t do that. That was very uncharacteristic of us, I don’t know if we just threw it all in the Westview game…you just can’t do that with this team [Liberty Creek],” said Viqueens’ head coach Cam Farrell. “They’re the best team that we’ve seen this year. Alabama [Gulf Shores Classic], here, anywhere that we’ve played, that is the best team by far, and you can’t make mistakes with them because they’re gonna be on it.”

Liberty Creek, set to move up to Class AAA next year with an official student population of 977 as of October 2024, is the defending state champions, and its two-year run in Class AA will finish with two state championship game appearances as well as at least one championship. 

The mistakes began to multiply almost immediately for Community following Mallie Grizzle’s leadoff double to start the game. The next batter, Emerson Fitzwilson, laid down a bunt against Viqueens’ starter, Taylar Wessner, and she reached safely on an uncharacteristic throwing error to first from the normally reliable Wessner – Community’s usual starting shortstop – which allowed Grizzle to round third and score the first run of the game. 

Because Annie Prince had thrown 108 pitches in the first game of the doubleheader against Westview on top of the 209 pitches she threw on Wednesday, Farrell gave the start to Taylar Wessner. Wessner got the first two innings and then pitched in the fifth, giving up five runs with just one earned on four hits and one strikeout in 3.0 total innings of work on 51 pitches. Gracie Daniel worked the third and fourth innings, giving up seven runs – all unearned – on three hits and two walks on 48 pitches.

Taylar Wessner (13) got the start against Liberty Creek on Thursday, giving up just one earned run and four hits with one strikeout in 3.0 innings of work as well as going 1-2 at the plate in the final game of her career.

Noah Maddox

To continue the Wolves’ rally in the top of the first, Maddie Floyd was hit by a pitch, and then a wild pitch advanced Fitzwilson and Floyd into scoring position. They would both come around to score after Maisen Lewis laced a 2-RBI single to give the Wolves a 3-0 lead before recording an out. Another mistake would allow Liberty Creek to take a 4-0 lead after the top of the first when Community’s Carlie Blanton threw a strike down to second with two outs in an attempt to end the inning, but the stealing Hailee Langston somehow evaded tag. Kenslee Gregory promptly took off for home from third and reached safely.

The Viqueens got a run back in the home half when Anna Haskins led off with a single into left followed by a one-out walk worked by Carlie Blanton that led to a two-out RBI-double from Mattie Maxey. However, the inning came to an abrupt end when Alana Clark – courtesy running for the catcher Blanton – was thrown out at third base by Wolves’ catcher Kenslee Gregory.

Mattie Maxey (28) went 2-2 and drove in the lone Viqueens' run against Liberty Creek on Thursday.

Noah Maddox

After finding a way to push across a run in the first, the Viqueens’ struggled against Liberty Creek starter KiKi Belcher, tallying just three more hits for the rest of the game. Belcher struck out five and walked one on 68 pitches while giving up five total hits and the one earned first-inning run.

Liberty Creek tacked on a run in the second after Maddie Floyd beat out a potential inning-ending double play at first to allow Addi Kiser to score from third and extend the Wolves’ lead to 5-1.

Community went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the second, and then the wheels really started to fall off for the Viqueens defensively to start the third. Gracie Daniel swapped places with Wessner, moving from short to the circle, and unfortunately for the Viqueens, they went on to drop not one, but two routine fly balls that directly led to both runs scored in the inning. First, Hailey Langston’s infield pop-up ended with Wessner and Kamryn Farrell running into each other and dropping the ball, allowing runners to reach second and third with just one out. This directly led to a sac-fly RBI from Gregory, and then Langston’s routine fly ball was dropped in right-center field when Haskins and Victoria Wells collided, allowing Liberty Creek to grow the lead to 7-1.

Wessner legged out a two-out infield single in the bottom of the third but was left stranded on base. 

Liberty Creek put up five runs in the top of the fourth thanks to an astonishing six errors that included two dropped pop-flys in the outfield to take a 12-1 lead.

Community nearly scored its second run of the game when Mattie Maxey legged out an infield single followed by a double by Haylee Webb. Maxey attempted to round third and reach home, but a perfect throw from Fitzwilson gunned her down at the plate. 

The Viqueens went down in order in the fifth to trigger the 10-run run-rule, ending a historic run this season for Unionville’s softball program as well as the careers of their two seniors – Carlie Blanton and Taylar Wessner.

Carlie Blanton (55) worked a walk in the final game of her career in the loss to Liberty Creek on Thursday after going 1-2 with a walk at the plate in the win over Westview in the first game of the day.

Noah Maddox

“Their [Carlie and Taylar] impact was huge,” Farrell said. “They both kinda got together and had the attitude that we won’t accept anything less as far as getting to the state tournament, and then setting the mindset of ‘we’ll figure it out from there.’ They have been extremely positive, and they have helped out the younger ones. I mean, Taylar could have yelled at a freshman out there [for dropping a fly ball] but she just kinda talked her up and told her we just have to do what we do. They’re just positive kids, man, just great kids. My biggest worry leaving softball season – and I always want to win the state tournament – is, I always want to sleep knowing that the girls that are leaving this program are going to be successful, and without a doubt, I know that they will be. Just the way they are and how they are with other people, they’re going to be that.”

“Their impact was great and they are both going to be extremely missed, I mean, they’re going to be missed. They never left the field.”

Community won two games at the state tournament for the first time in program history, and with the majority of its team in-line to return for next season – including one of the best pitchers in the state in Annie Prince – the Viqueens are poised to build off what was built this season.

“I’m looking forward to getting back to the drawing board,” Farrell concluded. “We’ll have some new pieces – we’ll have a lot of pieces that are returning as well – and I can’t wait to see what they do and I can’t wait to see how the returners respond to this.”

Viqueens' head coach Cam Farrell (pictured) led Community to its best finish in the TSSAA Softball State Tournament, winning two games in the competition for the first time in program history.

Noah Maddox

Anna Haskins went 1-2, Wessner finished 1-2, and Mattie Maxey went 2-2 with an RBI. Haylee Webb recorded the fifth and final hit for the Viqueens, finishing 1-2 at the plate.

Community’s season comes to a close at 32-6-2, the District 9-AA Champions, the Region 5-AA Runner-Up, and Class AA Softball State Semifinalists. 

An Aside About Liberty Creek

Over the course of the two days in Murfreesboro, a common talking point amongst the Community faithful was the status and fairness of playing against third-year school, Liberty Creek, due to its present student population. 

So, here are some statistics about the school. Located in Gallatin, the Wolves won the Class AA Softball State Championship last season  in just its second year. TSSAA recorded the student population at 582 in 2022-23, yet for this upcoming classification cycle, that number jumped up by nearly 400 students to 977. The official cutoff for schools to stay in Class AA is 646 students. In the 2023-24 school year, Liberty Creek’s student population was 818. Both numbers are at least 150 students over the threshold, and the fact that this was not expected or factored in for a brand-new school during the 2023 reclassification cycle is honestly a little bit of a head-scratcher. 

Community’s 534 students listed for the 2025-27 classification cycle is more than 400 students less than Liberty Creek, meaning the Viqueens were forced to go through a school nearly twice its own size. 

Liberty Creek even competed in Class AAA during its first year of existence in the 2022-23 school year, finishing a pedestrian 11-12 (6-6) and fourth-place in District 9-AAA behind Greenbriar, Creekwood, and Montgomery Central, in that order. The next season, the Wolves were reclassified to Class AA, and they finished 30-8-1 (8-0) as the state champions.

The Wolves are set to move back up to their correct classification – Class AAA – for the upcoming 2025-26 school year.