South Warren eighth-grader Shelby Nunn had a memorable postseason debut in the opening round of the District 14 Softball Tournament on Monday at the WKU Softball Complex.

Nunn threw a one-hit shutout and added her first varsity home run to lead South Warren (13-14) past Warren Central 11-0 in five innings. It was the second time in three seasons the Lady Spartans beat Warren Central in the District 14 opening-round game.

“We just came out and played our regular game,” Nunn said. “It’s just very exciting to know that this is my first time pitching in (the district tournament). I just wanted to get the win for my school.”

Nunn’s homer came during an eight-run, second-inning barrage that broke the game open.

Carli Stuart’s two run double started the scoring. Stuart scored the third run of the inning and Nunn doubled the advantage, with a three-run home run that cleared the wall in left field.

“I think of it like any regular at-bat,” Nunn said. “I took my swing like I normally do, kept my mechanics in tact, and do what I do best. It was very exciting. I was very pumped to help my team in that way.”

Colby Downing capped the second run rally with a two-run double that made it 8-0.

“Once we got a couple of hits, it starts to get contagious a little bit,” South Warren coach Chris Riggs said. “It relaxes people, helps them get loose, and you can hit better when you are that way.”

The Lady Spartans added three more runs in the fourth, and Nunn finished it off with a perfect fifth inning.

Nunn allowed one hit, a single to Hannah King and struck out five.

“Shelby pitched well,” Riggs said. “She threw a lot of strikes, and made them hit the ball. We made the routine plays and that is all you can ask for.”

South Warren finished with nine hits, two each from Downing and Julianne Moore.

With the loss, Warren Central finished 5-21 under first year coach Matthew Holmes.

The win total was a slight improvement from last season when the Lady Dragons won three games. Warren Central won nine games total under three different coaches in the three years prior to this season.

Holmes, following the game, said that he would be back next season.

“These girls came out here and put their heart into it,” Holmes said. “It’s disheartening for my seniors. They’ve meant the world to this team this year. I wish we could have gone further in the district. We have a young team. We’re going to work hard in the offseason. We have a whole lot of change for the future. This will not be the same Dragon team next year. We’re working on being a better program overall.”

South Warren advances to tonight’s District 14 Tournament semifinals, facing No. 1 and unbeaten Greenwood at 6 p.m. The Lady Gators beat South Warren twice in the regular season, winning both games 13-0.

“We need to treat them as any other team and give our best,” Nunn said.

WCHS 000 00 –  0   1  2

SWHS 080 3x – 11  9  1

WP: Nunn    LP: King

— Micheal Compton covers prep sports for the Bowling Green Daily News. Follow him at twitter.com/Mcompton428 or visit bgdailynews.com.