Jags in winner's bracket, Eagles eliminated from state tourney
MONTGOMERY – Just like last year, the Spain Park High School softball team did all it could during the first day of the Class 7A state tournament at Lagoon Park in Montgomery.
Last season, the Jags won both games they played to remain one of two teams without a blemish after Day 1. They achieved the same on Wednesday.
“That was definitely the goal,” said Spain Park head coach CJ Hawkins. “I’m super proud of these girls for fighting through the conditions and the great teams we faced.”
Spain Park made three first-inning runs stand up in the first contest of the day, a 3-0 win over Hewitt-Trussville. Maddie Majors and Annabelle Widra were each hit by a pitch to lead off the game, and Alexis Anderson made the Huskies pay. Anderson ripped a double down the left field line to score two runs. Lindsay Parker followed with an RBI single to make it 3-0.
That was all Widra needed in the circle, as she shut out one of the state’s top offenses. Widra walked the bases loaded in the third inning but got a pair of strikeouts to work out of danger. She retired 11 batters in a row from the fourth until the seventh inning and finished with 12 strikeouts and just two hits allowed.
Later in the afternoon, Spain Park used a four-run fifth inning to pull away from Prattville in a 10-3 win. The Jags strung together four consecutive hits, including RBI knocks from Anderson and Parker, to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Bailey Bowers walked with the bases loaded and two more runs came home on an error to make it 5-0 after two frames.
Prattville cut the deficit to 5-3 with three solo home runs over the third and fourth innings, including back-to-back shots in the third from Kaelyn Campbell and Summer Little.
Anderson had a sacrifice fly in the fifth in the fourth to stretch the lead to 6-3 before the Jags put four on the board in the sixth. Caroline Kendrick, Majors and Widra collected three consecutive run-scoring hits, and Kyndal Heaton scored on a passed ball to cap off the big inning.
Aside from the three homers, Widra did not yield much. She struck out 12 and allowed five total hits in the game.
With the wins, Spain Park advances to the winner’s bracket semifinal, to be played against Smiths Station on Thursday at 9 a.m.
Last spring, the Jags were unable to capitalize on the first-day momentum. This time around, they plan to focus on the task at hand to make the final day of the season a memorable one.
“We’re taking it one game at a time,” Hawkins said. “We’re super thrilled, but we’re not focused on anything but what’s in front of us.”
Eagles swept out of state tournament
Oak Mountain’s first state tournament appearance since 2003 did not go as the Eagles hoped. The Eagles were eliminated after losing each of their first two games on Wednesday at the Class 7A state tournament.
Oak Mountain drew Buckhorn in the first round after earning the top seed from the North Central Regional, but Buckhorn jumped out to a seven-run lead and held on for an 8-5 win.
Buckhorn pounced on the Eagles early, but Oak Mountain fought back and made it interesting at the end. After falling behind 8-1, Jenna Galloway laced a triple to the gap in left center to score two runs and make it 8-3 after four innings of play. Oak Mountain added another run the following inning, as alert baserunning from Cassady Greenwood allowed her to score.
After M’Kiyah Mitchell reached on an error and Torie Denkers doubled, the Eagles brought the tying run to the plate but were unable to manufacture any more.
Clara Fuller came on in relief of Lacy Marty in the fourth inning and pitched 3 2/3 stellar innings of one-hit ball to keep the Eagles in the game.
Oak Mountain’s season came to an end with a 6-4 loss to Mary G. Montgomery. With the game tied at 2-2, MGM scored three runs in the third inning to take a 5-2 lead and never surrendered the lead.
Galloway’s RBI double in the fifth and Greenwood’s RBI double in the seventh allowed the Eagles to bring the tying run to the plate for the second consecutive game in the final inning.
The loss signaled the end of the careers of Eagles seniors Bryson Campbell, Greenwood, Galloway and Denkers.