FLORENCE, Ala. – This year’s North Regional Softball Tournament got off to a slow start due to wet conditions at Coffee O’Neal Park in Florence Monday morning but after some time spent preparing the fields, the Cullman Bearcats were back in action for a pair of 6A Regional matchups. The ‘Cats got started with a game against No. 7 Hazel Green and Cullman led 6-5 after the fifth but the Trojans were able to score a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh to hand the Bearcats a heartbreaking, 7-6 loss in their first matchup of the day. Cullman bounced back in its elimination game against Fort Payne, plating 16 runs on 15 hits to defeat the Wildcats 16-8 and advance to day two. The Bearcats are scheduled to be back on the field Tuesday at 10:45 a.m. for another elimination game against Buckhorn barring any inclement weather.
Hazel Green 7 – Cullman 6 (Game One)
A pair of singles allowed Hazel Green to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first and the Trojans tacked on another run in the second to make it 2-0 but the Bearcats responded with a big third inning. With two outs on the board, Taylor Au drew a walk and Reese Hopper was hit by a pitch to give the Bearcats a pair of runners. Au scored on a wild pitch later in the inning to trim the lead to 2-1 and an error allowed Hopper to score just a few pitches later and tie the game at 2. Brooklyn Morton then came to the plate and punched a 2-run single over the first baseman’s head to give Cullman a 4-2 lead going into the bottom of the third.
Hazel Green answered with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning, tying the score at 4, but the Bearcats took the lead right back when Brie Voss led off the top of the fourth with a solo home run out of center field. The Trojans continued to battle back, stringing some hits together in the bottom of the fourth to tie things back up at 5.
Kynlei Storey drew a walk, Hattie Graham was hit by a pitch and Morton drew a walk to load the bases for Cullman in the top of the fifth and later in the inning, Voss was hit by a pitch to put the Bearcats back in front 6-5 going into the bottom half of the fifth. After a scoreless sixth inning, Cullman went into the final frame holding onto a 1-run lead, but Hazel Green was able to tie the game at 6 on a fielder’s choice and eventually defeated the Bearcats 7-6 on a walk-off single.
Morton and Voss each posted a hit and two RBIs in the loss and Dracen Bates, Au and Graham each added a hit as well.
Cullman 16 – Fort Payne 8 (Game Two)
A pair of home runs gave Fort Payne a 3-0 lead in the top of the first, but Cullman was able to cut the lead to 3-2 in the bottom half of the inning with a 2-run double off the bat of Hattie Graham. The Wildcats put another run on the board in the top of the second to make it 4-2 and extended their lead to 5-2 in the top of the third but the Bearcats responded when they returned to the plate in the bottom half of the inning.
Reese Hopper and Kynlei Storey led off with back to back singles and Graham shot a double into center field to plate Hopper and make it a 5-3 game. Four pitches later, Brooklyn Morton drove a double into deep center to score two more runs and tie things up at 5. The big inning continued with back to back RBI singles from Kylie Stracener and Abby Maples, putting Cullman in front 7-5. Stracener scored a few pitches later on a fielder’s choice, Story scored on an error and Graham barreled up another 2-run double to stretch the Bearcat lead to 11-5 going into the fourth inning.
Fort Payne cut the lead to four in the top of the fourth, but Cullman answered with three more runs in the home half to maintain a 14-7 advantage. After a scoreless fifth inning, the Wildcats pushed one run across in the sixth to make it a 14-8 game. The Bearcats were still finding barrels in their half of the sixth. Leighton McGriff led off with a single, Taylor Au followed with a double and after McGriff scored on a fielder’s choice, Brie Voss drove in Au with a sacrifice fly to give Cullman a 16-8 lead heading into the seventh. The ‘Cats collected the final three outs in the next frame and kept their postseason hopes alive with a 16-8 win.
Five Cullman players posted multiple hits in the win, led by Graham with three hits and a team-high five RBIs, and Maples with three hits and two RBIs. Storey (two RBIs), Au (one RBI) and Stracener (one RBI) each finished with a pair of hits and Morton (two RBIs), Hopper and McGriff each added hits as well.
Copyright 2024 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
