OXFORD, Ala. – This season has been one to remember for the West Point Lady Warriors. They collected their eighth consecutive Cullman County Championship in April, took down Russellville twice to claim an Area Tournament title, defeated Pleasant Grove and topped Ardmore twice at the North Regional and now they’ll be competing at the 5A State Tournament at Oxford’s Choccolocco Park for the first time in school history.
After knocking off Pleasant Grove and Ardmore on day one at the North Regional, West Point dropped its first game against Jasper Thursday morning 2-1. However, in an elimination game rematch against Ardmore, the Lady Warriors bounced back to earn a 4-3 win and punch their ticket to the state tournament. West Point Head Coach Steven Harbison was proud but not surprised to see his veteran squad respond and get the win they needed to make history and secure a spot in Oxford.
“They’ve been battling all season and in the last three of four years we’ve been in spots like this and came up short, but we’ve got some grizzled vets that have been here before and they all just pulled together as a team,” Harbison said. “It was just amazing; everybody was contributing, and it was beautiful. There are no words to describe how proud I am of them and how much they deserve this.”
West Point (30-14) is scoring just under seven runs per game this season and UAB signee Carlie Wilkins has been dominant in the circle. Since the postseason began with the area tournament, the senior right-hander has held the Lady Warriors’ opponents to just six runs in six starts and racked up 32 strikeouts.
Now, West Point will turn its attention to No. 1 Alexandria. The top-ranked Valley Cubs (42-10) will be the first opponent for the Lady Warriors Wednesday at 10:45 a.m. and they’ve been putting together an outstanding season as well. Alexandria defeated Guntersville, Sardis and Moody by a combined score of 15-0 to cruise through the East Regional unbeaten and finished the regular season on top of the ASWA (Alabama Sports Writers Association) Class 5A rankings.
Following its matchup against the Valley Cubs, West Point will take on either Elmore County or Rehobeth at 2:15 p.m.
Follow The Cullman Tribune on Facebook for updates on the Lady Warriors throughout the State Tournament.
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