Class 5A, Area 12 Tournament
Curry 7, Fairview 3 (Loser's bracket game)
West Point 12, Curry 2 (Loser's bracket game)
Hayden 17, West Point 5 (Championship Game)
West Point 12, Curry 2
West Point faced off against Curry, who defeated Fairview, 7-3, in the first loser's bracket game of the day on Thursday. The Lady Warriors didn't waste any time getting on the scoreboard. Gracie Abbott reached on a dropped fly ball by the right fielder to lead off the bottom of the first. Then, back-to-back walks by Olivia Ball and Molly Pendley loaded up the bases for Makayla Brown, who hit a sacrifice fly to put West Point on the scoreboard. Hope Shedd added an RBI single and Braelee Quinn hit an RBI groundout to give the Lady Warriors an early 3-0 lead.
They continued the early onslaught in the second inning. Three straight one-out walks by Abbott, Ball and Pendley loaded the bases for Brown, who lined a two-run double to center field to make it a 5-0 score. For the third straight inning, West Point loaded up the bases, courtesy of three straight singles to lead off the inning. Abbott hit a sacrifice fly, then after Ball was intentionally walked to re-load the bases, two straight errors by the shortstop allowed Ava Jo Rushing and Avery McClure to score. Shedd added a sacrifice fly and the shortstop's third error of the inning allowed Pendley to score.
The Lady Yellow Jackets hit RBI singles in the top of the fourth and fifth innings to get on the scoreboard, but West Point ended the game in its half. After loading the bases for the fourth time in five innings, the Lady Warriors took advantage of Curry's fifth and final error of the game to bring across two more runs to clinch a spot in the North Central Regional next week and advance to the championship game against Hayden.
Brown finished the game with two hits and four RBIs for West Point. Shedd added a hit, two RBIs and she scored a run. Abbott and Pendley (one hit) each scored two runs and had an RBI in the game. Quinn chipped in with an RBI and a run scored in the game. Carlie Wilkins, Rushing (one run scored) and McClure (one run scored) each collected a hit in the game. Wilkins went the distance, giving up just four hits, two runs (one unearned), walking one and striking out one.
Hayden 17, West Point 5 (Championship Game)
Hayden jumped on West Point to open up the Class 5A, Area 12 championship game. An RBI single, a bases-loaded walk, a sacrifice fly and two Lady Warrior errors allowed the Lady Wildcats to put up a five spot in the run column in the first inning. West Point got on the scoreboard in its half. Abbott led off the inning with a single to center field, then Pendley reached on an error by the shortstop. Two outs later, Shedd lined a two-run double to center field to make it a 5-2 game early.
But another West Point error led to a two-run homer by Lindsey Smith in the second inning to make it a 7-2 advantage for Hayden. The Lady Wildcats widened their lead even further in the third when Brenna Hays led off the inning with a solo home run, and they added four more runs in the inning on a bases-loaded walk, a two-run single and an RBI single. Brown added a sacrifice fly for West Point in the bottom of the third to make it a 12-3 game, but Hayden was just too much for West Point at the end; the Lady Wildcats added five more runs in the top of the fifth and the Lady Warriors fell just short of adding another championship to their trophy case.
Shedd finished with a hit and two RBIs for West Point. Ball added a pair of hits, an RBI and she scored a run. Brown collected a pair of RBIs in the game. Abbott collected a pair of hits and she scored a run. Pendley chipped in with a hit and she scored three runs in the game. Rushing added a hit for the Lady Warriors, who will play in the North Central Regional next week. Their opponent is TBD.
Class 6A, Area 14 Tournament
Albertville 2, Cullman 1 (Loser's bracket game)
Fort Payne 8, Albertville 3 (Championship Game)
Albertville 2, Cullman 1
Cullman looked to keep its season alive and move on to the Class 6A, Area 14 championship game against Fort Payne.
The Lady Bearcats had multiple opportunities to score the first run of the game in three of the first four innings, but they couldn't get a run across. They got something going in the fifth inning. Regan Quattlebaum started a one-out rally with a single to right field, then Gracie Cook hit one of her own to left field. Ashlen Heatherly put Cullman on the scoreboard with an RBI single to center field.
Lady Bearcat starter Sydney Holder looked to have things well in hand, allowing just four Albertville hits and seven base runners through the first six innings, but she ran into big-time trouble in the seventh when the Lady Aggies hit five straight singles to lead off the inning; the last two were RBI singles, and the Lady Bearcats saw their season come to a stunning end.
Heatherly finished with a pair of hits and she had Cullman's only RBI of the game. Savannah Davis, Keslynn Grimmett and Alex Stansell each added two hits. Quattlebaum, Cook (one run scored) and Faith Guest each chipped in with a hit of their own. The Lady Bearcats will see three players graduate: Gracie Cook, Hannah McPherson and Kennedy Wren, and will look to continue to improve next season with a young, but improved, roster for head coach Meagan Cagle.
Class 3A, Area 11 Tournament
Holly Pond 7, J.B. Pennington 2 (Loser's bracket game)
Locust Fork 6, Holly Pond 0 (Championship Game)
The Lady Broncos will play Ohatchee next Friday at noon in Tuscaloosa. This is the third time in the past four seasons that they have advanced to the North Central Regional Tournament.
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