Cullman's Ninfa Moreno Rodriguez (10) (Nick Griffin for The Tribune)
CULLMAN – The Lady Bearcats’ soccer team dropped their final matchup of the regular season to the visiting Decatur Lady Raiders 5-1 Thursday night. After a tight first half the sent both teams to the locker room scoreless, Abby Branham gave the ‘Cats a 1-0 lead with a long goal just two minutes into the second half.
Unfortunately for Cullman, it was all Raiders after Branham’s goal. Decatur scored five unanswered goals in the last 28 minutes of the game to win it 5-1. The loss puts Cullman’s record at 11-7-3 to finish the regular season with round one of the playoffs coming up on April 27. The Bearcats will host either Southside Gadsden or Fort Payne for round one.
PREP SOFTBALL: Cold Springs wins in extra innings; will host first round of state playoffs
FALKVILLE – It was a huge area game for the Cold Springs Lady Eagles as they took on Falkville on the road Thursday, with the winner to host the first round of the state playoffs. The Lady Eagles lost a lead late but held on in extra innings to defeat the Lady Blue Devils, 4-3.
The first three innings turned into a pitcher's duel between Cold Springs' Drew Sanders and Falkville's Kameryn Scales as they allowed just three hits combined. The fourth inning, though, the Lady Eagles got something going. Kylon Hamby reached on a one-out single and advanced to second on an error by the shortstop, Sydnee Fitzgerald. She moved to third on a groundout by Emily Williams and Lacey Rice drove her in with an RBI single to put Cold Springs on the scoreboard.
The Lady Eagles added more runs in the fifth inning. Sanders reached with two outs on a botched ground ball by Madison Stewart at second base, then Anna Kate Voce lined a two-run homer over the left-field fence to extend the Lady Eagle lead to 3-0. Sanders cruised through the first five innings, allowing just two base runners to reach base, but the sixth inning was a totally different story.
Fitzgerald and Brooklyn Melson led off the inning with back-to-back singles and Fitzgerald got thrown out at second on the Melson single. Scales then drew a walk and Brooklyn Owens reached on a fielder's choice to put Melson on third and Owens at first with two outs as Sanders looked to get out of the inning unscathed. The Lady Blue Devils, though, had other ideas as Maddie Holmes, Makenzie Veal and Alyzea Aguero hit back-to-back-to-back RBI singles and they tied the game at three.
Neither team scored in the seventh, so the game had to be decided in extra innings. The Lady Eagles got things started in the eighth inning as Voce drew a one-out walk and Victoria Freeman lined a single to right field. Hamby hit an RBI single to left field to give Cold Springs a 4-3 lead. Sanders worked around a one-out single as she got Aguero to pop out to Crimson Gann at first base for the final out to clinch the win. The Lady Eagles will host the first round of the state playoffs next week.
Voce finished with a hit, two RBIs, and she scored two runs for Cold Springs. Hamby (two hits, one run scored) and Rice (one hit) each chipped in with an RBI in the game. Williams added two hits; Freeman and Sanders (one run scored) each finished with a hit in the game. Sanders went the distance, allowing eight hits, three runs, walking two and striking out one. The Lady Eagles improve to 16-10 overall and will now concentrate on finishing the season strong when they travel to Vinemont today.
Thursday scoring roundup
West Point 15, Fairview 3 (SB)
Lady Warriors 9-12-2
Next game: April 23 v. Holly Pond
Lady Aggies 9-14
Next game: April 23 v. Hayden
Southeastern 8, Hanceville 2 (SB)
Lady Bulldogs 3-16
Next game: Friday v. Holly Pond
Arab 9, West Point 0 (VB SC)
Warriors 1-8
Next game: April 23 v. J.B. Pennington
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