VINEMONT, Ala. – After Sunday night’s rainy weather pushed the start of this year’s Cullman County Softball Tournament to Tuesday, the Good Hope Raiders defended their title in dominant fashion, routing Cold Springs 17-2 in the semifinals and handling West Point in the championship game 11-1. Molly Benefield got the start for Good Hope in the title game, allowing just two hits and striking out eight batters to help seal the win for the Raiders.
Lizzy Steed led off the bottom of the first with a single and scored on a fielder’s choice later in the inning to give Good Hope a 1-0 lead. After a scoreless second inning, West Point’s Averee Folds scored on an error to tie the game at 1 in the top of the third, but the Raiders responded in the bottom half of the inning.
Maggie O’Neil was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and Lizzy Steed knocked the next pitch into deep left field to score O’Neil and give Good Hope a 2-1 lead. One pitch later, Kylee Smith drove an RBI single back up the middle to score Steed and make it a 3-1 game. After Campbell Koch kept the inning going with another hit, Haley Lay lined an RBI single into left field to plate Smith and put the Raiders in front 4-1 going into the fourth.
Brooklyn Lambert scored on an error in the bottom of the fourth to extend the lead to 5-1 and Good Hope put things away for good in the bottom of the fifth. Three straight walks loaded the bases for Natalie Miller and she sent a bases-clearing double into center field to make it an 8-1 game. Burgess knocked the next pitch into left field to score Miller and stretch the lead to 9-1 and after two more walks loaded the bases again, Steed wrapped things up with a 2-run single, securing an 11-1 win for Good Hope and back to back county championships.
Steed finished 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs and Miller (one hit) recorded three RBIs as well. Smith, Koch, Lay and Burgess each posted a hit and an RBI in the win. Folds and Zailee Love recorded West Point’s only two hits in the loss.
Cullman County All-Tournament Team
Addyson Burgess, Good Hope
Haley Lay, Good Hope
Natalie Miller, Good Hope
Lizzy Steed, Good Hope
Molly Benefield, Good Hope
Kortni Baker, West Point
Katie Beth Yovino, West Point
Cabri Blackwood, West Point
Macie Brown, West Point
Kylie Kovar, Fairview
Emily Benson, Fairview
Ayda Payne, Fairview
Joci Williams, Cold Springs
Sadie Smith, Cold Springs
Brooklyn Ingram, Cold Springs
Bryleigh Basinger, Vinemont
Tori Vines, Vinemont
Abby Kuykendall, Vinemont
Maggie Nail, Holly Pond
Alaina Folds, Holly Pond
Isabella Spinks, Hanceville
Josi Jones, Hanceville
2025 All-County Team
Molly Benefield, Good Hope
Lizzy Steed, Good Hope
Addyson Burgess, Good Hope
Campbell Koch, Good Hope
Katie Beth Yovino, West Point
Kortni Baker, West Point
Macie Brown, West Point
Brayley Phillips, West Point
Ralie Gaines, Fairview
Jocelyn Barnett, Fairview
Addison Phillips, Fairview
Adriana Young, Cold Springs
Sadie Smith, Cold Springs
Cloe Shelton, Cold Springs
Alex Twitty, Hanceville
Kynzlee Farr, Hanceville
Bryleigh Basinger, Vinemont
Alaina Sandlin, Vinemont
Clara Spitzer, Holly Pond
Maggie Nail, Holly Pond
Good Hope 17 – Cold Springs 2 (semifinals)
The game was scoreless going into the second inning, but Good Hope quickly got something going in the bottom of the second. Molly Benefield led off the inning with a walk, and Natalie Miller reached on an error. They both moved up to third and second, respectively, on a ground ball, and Brooklyn Lambert’s RBI single put them on the scoreboard first. Miller scored on a suicide squeeze play by Lizzy Steed to make it 2-0, then three straight RBI singles by Kylee Smith, Campbell Koch, and Haley Lay extended the Lady Raider lead to 5-0.
Good Hope broke the game wide open in the bottom of the third inning. Benefield hit a double to lead off the third, and Natalie Miller drove her in on an RBI single up the middle to make it 6-0. A hit by pitch and a walk loaded the bases with one out, and Steed hit the first pitch she saw into right field for a two-run double to put them ahead, 8-0. Maggie O’Neil came around to score on an error to give the Lady Raiders a 9-0 lead. Koch hit an RBI single, and Lay drove in a run on a sacrifice fly to make it 11-0.
Brooklyn Ingram led off the top of the fourth inning for Cold Springs with a triple and came around to score on an error four pitches later to cut it to 11-1. Back-to-back singles loaded the bases, and Brooke Rowan hit an RBI single to center field to make it 11-2. Good Hope ended things in their half. Gracie Garmon hit a two-run double, Kenzlee Smith added an RBI single, and Calleigh Granger collected an RBI double to give them a 15-2 lead. Granger came around to score on an error to make it 16-2, and Carlee Trammell’s RBI double put the finishing touches on a 17-2 win for the Lady Raiders.
Steed and Kylee Smith each posted a pair of hits and three RBIs for Good Hope. Koch added three hits and a pair of RBIs, and Garmon collected a hit and two RBIs. Six other Raider players finished with an RBI in the game. Addyson Burgess gave up just six hits and one earned run and struck out three in her four innings of work.
Rowan finished with a hit and an RBI for Cold Springs, while Aleah Addison, Kaydance Williams, Ingram, Sadie Smith, and Adriana Young all collected a hit of their own in the loss.
West Point 10 – Fairview 5 (Semifinals)
West Point struck first in its opening at-bats. Katie Beth Yovino reached on an error to lead off the bottom of the first. She moved up to third on a fly ball, and a sacrifice fly by Brayley Phillips gave them the 1-0 lead. The score remained the same until the bottom of the third. Lauren Windham reached on a fielder’s choice with one out, and back-to-back errors allowed Windham and Phillips to score to make it 3-0. Cabri Blackwood followed that up with an RBI double to extend the Lady Warrior lead to 4-0, and Kylie Burks added an RBI single to put them ahead, 5-0.
Back-to-back doubles by Ayda Payne and Addison Phillips cut the Fairview deficit to 5-1 in the top of the fourth. West Point put a pair of runners on second and third in their half, and Windham’s sacrifice fly made it 6-1. Three pitches later, Phillips knocked an RBI single to center field to give them a 7-1 lead. The Lady Aggies cut into the deficit in the top of the sixth inning.
A single by Payne and a double by Phillips put runners on second and third with one out, and Jocelyn Barnett lined a two-run double to right field to make it a 7-3 game. A single by Ralie Gaines put runners on the corners, and Ada Fales made it 7-4 on an RBI single. Later that inning, Emily Benson hit an RBI single to center field to trim it to a two-run game.
West Point added to their lead in their half. Kealie Harbison led off the inning with a single, and Yovino reached on an error to put runners on second and third with nobody out. Windham lined the first pitch she saw into right field for an RBI single to make it 8-5. Yovino later scored on a passed ball to extend the Lady Warrior lead to 9-5, and an error allowed Windham to cross the plate to make it 10-5. Fairview couldn’t mount a comeback in the seventh, and West Point would go on to defeat the Lady Aggies, 10-5, to move on to the championship game against Good Hope.
Windham and Phillips each collected a hit and two RBIs for the Lady Warriors, while Blackwood and Burks each added a hit and an RBI. Barnett finished with a hit and two RBIs for Fairview, while Phillips (two hits), Fales (two hits), and Benson (one hit) all drove in a run as well.
Cold Springs 7 – Vinemont 6 (Game One)
After a scoreless first inning, Vinemont was able to take an early lead in the top of the second. Singles by Alaina Sandlin and Tori Vines put a pair of runners on base and Brooklyn Yarbrough drove the next pitch into left field to plate Sandlin and take a 1-0 lead. Later in the inning, Jadyn Knott ripped an RBI single into left field to score Audriena Key and make it a 2-0 game going into the third.
Vinemont added to its lead in the top of the third when Sandlin lined an RBI single into left field, stretching the lead to 3-0. However, Cold Springs responded in the bottom half of the third. Sadie Smith led things off with a triple, Aleah Addison drew a walk and Kaydance Williams laid down a bunt single to load the bases. Two pitches later, Brooklyn Ingram drove a 2-run single into left field to plate a pair of runs and cut the lead to 3-2. Cold Springs was able to load the bases again later in the inning and an error allowed two more runs to score and put Cold Springs in front 4-3 going into the fourth.
Vinemont answered in the top of the fourth, tying the game at 4 on an RBI single from Arleigh Thomason. Later in the inning, Bryleigh Basinger barreled up a 2-run double to plate two more runs and give Vinemont a 6-4 lead. After a scoreless fifth inning, Cold Springs tied things up in the bottom of the sixth. Williams drew a walk with the bases loaded to bring Maddie Davis home to score, cutting the lead to 6-5 and Ingram was hit by a pitch during the next at bat to score Smith and tie things up at 6 headed into the seventh.
In the bottom of the seventh, a pair of walks and an error loaded the bases for Cold Springs and Addison drew a walk to score Cloe Shelton, seal a 7-6 win and advance to the semifinals.
Ingram (one hit) racked up three RBIs in the win and Smith added a pair of hits as well. For Vinemont, Knott, Yarbrough, Vines, Sandlin and Abby Kuykendall each recorded two hits in the loss.
Fairview 16 – Holly Pond 1 (Game Two)
The Aggies got off to a fast start in this one. An RBI double from Ava Pruett put Fairview in front 1-0 in the bottom of the first and another RBI double from Addison Phillips made it a 2-0 game going into the second.
The Aggies added to their lead in the bottom of the second. Josie Earl hit a lead off single into left field and Emily Benson followed with a double to put a pair of runners in scoring position. Three pitches later, Kylie Kovar knocked a 2-run double into center field to make it a 4-0 game. After Pruett drew a walk, Ayda Payne lined a 2-run single into right field to stretch the lead to 6-0. Ada Fales drove another 2-run single into left field later in the inning to give Fairview an 8-0 lead going into the third.
An RBI single from Payne made it a 9-0 game in the bottom of the third but the Broncos were able to get on the board in the top of the fourth. Alaina Folds was hit by a pitch and Olivia Smith knocked a double into left field to give Holly Pond a pair of runners. Folds came home to score on a passed ball a few pitches later to trim the lead to 9-1 but the Broncos were unable to chip away any more in the fourth. The Aggies wrapped things up in the bottom half of the fourth, plating seven runs on seven hits to secure a 16-1 win and a spot in the semifinals.
Jocelyn Barnett earned the win after pitching two hitless innings and striking out four. Mali Gregory tossed the other two innings, allowing just one hit and striking out one batter.
At the plate, Payne finished 3-for-4 with five RBIs to lead the way for Fairview. Fales added three hits and three RBIs in the win and Benson, Kovar, Pruett and Ralie Gaines each posted a pair of hits as well.
West Point 12 – Hanceville 2 (Game Three)
The Bulldogs led off the top of the first with back to back singles from Kynzlee Farr and Alex Twitty. After Farr came home to score on a wild pitch and make it 1-0, Twitty scored on a fielder’s choice a few pitches later to give Hanceville a 2-0 lead. West Point responded in the bottom half of the first. An RBI double off the bat of Brayley Phillips cut the lead to 2-1 and Phillips came around to score on an error later in the inning to tie things up at 2.
The Warriors were able to pull ahead in the bottom of the second inning. Averee Folds led things off with a double and Kortni Baker brought her into score with an RBI single, putting West Point ahead 3-2. An RBI double from Katie Yovino put another run on the board to make it 4-2 and Zailee Love scored on a passed ball later in the inning to extend the lead to 5-2 going into the third.
After a scoreless third inning, West Point added to its lead in the bottom of the fourth. A pair of errors allowed Baker and Love to reach base and Baker scored on a fielder’s choice a few pitches later to make it a 6-2 game. An error during the next at bat allowed Love and Windham to score as well, stretching the lead to 8-2 headed into the fifth. After a scoreless fifth inning, the Warriors pulled away for good in the sixth. An error allowed Love and Yovino to score and make it a 10-2 game and later in the inning, Kylie Burks wrapped things up with a 2-run double into center field, securing a 12-2 win for West Point and a spot in the semifinals.
Burks (one hit) and Yovino (one hit) each posted a pair of RBIs in the win. Baker (one hit) and Phillips (one hit) each added an RBI as well. Farr led the way for Hanceville with two hits in the loss.
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