Large cleats to fill
A roster consisting primarily of experienced veterans with young talent to fill the gaps propelled the Spain Park High School softball team to the best season in school history.
Six seniors led the charge for the Jags’ 47-9 season, each one part of a group that won 75 percent of its games during the past four years, including three state tournament appearances. Julianna Cross and Mary Katherine Tedder have been mainstays even longer than that, dating back to their middle school days.
Those two, along with Jenna Olszewski, Caroline Parker, Mary Kate Teague and Hope Maddox will leave a legacy that will be hard to match by future classes.
“In the past, being (at the state tournament), Spain Park was just thrilled to be a part of this and it was just a bonus for every step. These girls have set some lofty goals,” Spain Park coach C.J. Hawkins said.
Even though the Jags fell short of a state championship trophy in those three state appearances, Hawkins sang the praises of her team following Spain Park’s third-place finish at the 2017 AHSAA Class 7A state tournament, held at Lagoon Park in Montgomery May 18-19.
“I couldn’t be more proud of them,” said Hawkins. “They’re all rock stars. They compete and they represented our community, represented our school. They brought so much love and excitement to our area. They’re champions.”
Spain Park began its run in the state tournament with a wild 3-2 victory over Auburn on May 18.
Spain Park did not execute to the best of its ability throughout the contest, but continued to battle despite entering the seventh inning trailing 2-1. Caroline Kendrick scored on an error to tie the game, and with the bases loaded, Olszewski was grazed in the arm by a pitch, earning her base and forcing in the winning run.
“That’s a huge lift, because that was a game we had to come from behind, and we haven’t done that in a couple weeks,” Hawkins said after the game. “We’ve been cruising a little bit. Super proud of them showing resiliency and overcoming adversity and some of the mental mistakes and sticking together.”
Unsurprisingly, Olszewski put together another productive campaign to cap off her career at Spain Park. In 2017, she hit .410 with seven homers and 47 RBIs. The Auburn University signee finished second on the team with 64 hits.
Tedder began the scoring in the Auburn game, as she capped off an eight-pitch at-bat with a line drive shot over the fence in left field for a home run to give Spain Park the 1-0 edge in the first inning. It proved to be the final bomb of her illustrious career. The University of Texas signee hit for a .460 average with nine homers and 57 RBIs for the year.
The second game for Spain Park on that first day featured much less drama, as the Jags broke out the lumber and run-ruled Baker, 10-0.
After going 0-for-2 in the Auburn game, Parker delivered a bases-clearing double to give the Jags a 4-0 lead in the first inning. Parker finished off her season and career with arguably the most productive three-week stretch of her life. Her secret to that success was simple: watching the ball all the way to the point of contact.
In the Jags’ two games in the North Central Regional, shutout wins over Tuscaloosa County and Oak Mountain, Parker racked up six hits and drove in five runs. Over three games at the area tournament, Parker drove in four runs against Huffman, went 2-for-4 with two RBIs against Oak Mountain in the semifinals and batted 2-for-3 with three RBIs against Oak Mountain again in the finals.
After taking that early lead, Parker drove in another run as the Jags rolled to the victory.
The second day of the state tournament did not go as well for the Jags, as they dropped a 7-1 decision before coming up on the short end of an 8-7 loss to Sparkman, eliminating Spain Park from the tournament with a third-place showing.
Hawkins said, “They’re competitors. They’re winners. They expected to be at the top, being able to come out of our area and come out of our region and dominate like we did and then come out 2-0 in this tournament. This was heartbreaking when it doesn’t go our way.”
Cross finished her career on a high note against Sparkman, going 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored, and made several impressive defensive plays on the day, including a catch at the fence in the first game of the day and an assist in the third inning, as Sparkman’s Kamryn Warman tried to stretch her hit into a double and was gunned down with a perfect throw.
Cross was a perfect second-hole hitter, as she hit .399 for the year with a team-leading 62 runs scored to go with 61 hits and 32 RBIs.
Teague and Maddox combined to give the Jags a pair of reliable options behind the plate at the catcher position. Teague has signed with UAH, and the two catchers combined to drive in 32 runs on the year.
The younger supporting cast was led by leadoff hitter and Auburn commit Maddie Majors, who set a school record with 87 hits while posting a .518 average. The sophomore showed off her speed and productivity with a team-leading eight triples and stole 11 bases.
Eighth-grader Annabelle Widra helped carve the path to state from the pitching circle as well. She finished the year with a 36-6 record and a 1.26 ERA in just over 200 innings pitched.
Taylor Harrington, Bailey Bowers and Alexis Anderson each logged significant playing time throughout the season, and those three along with Majors, Widra, and a cast of others waiting in the wings will attempt to fill some of the void left behind by the strong senior production departing.