BREMEN, Ala. — The Cold Springs Lady Eagles returned home to host Sumiton Christian in their area finale Thursday night looking to keep their playoff hopes alive but a late rally from Sumiton Christian proved to be the deciding factor in the game as Cold Springs wound up falling at home 9-5.
Sumiton Christian got on the scoreboard first on an RBI single. Cold Springs got a couple of runners on base with one out but couldn’t get a run across in their half. Cold Springs was held without a hit for the first two innings, but they quickly changed that in the bottom of the third. Heidi Nichols hit a leadoff single, then Maddie Pearl reached on a throwing error. One out later, Anna Katherine Voce lined an RBI double to center field and Emma Black followed that up with an RBI infield single, then Morgan Chasteen hit an RBI groundout to give Cold Springs a 3-1 lead after three innings.
Cold Springs added to their lead in the bottom of the fifth. Nichols and Pearl each reached on singles, then Voce hit a one-out RBI double to help stretch their lead to 4-1. Sumiton Christian made it a 4-3 game on a solo home run and an infield single, but Cold Springs looked to counter in their half. Back-to-back doubles by Chasteen and Shay Sellers, followed by a bunt single by Toni West, loaded the bases with no outs, but two strikeouts and a groundout quickly ended the threat.
Sumiton Christian started out the seventh inning red-hot as they collected seven straight hits to give them an 8-4 lead; they later added an RBI groundout as Cold Springs went into their half down, 9-4. Kyla Aaron hit a leadoff single to left field, then Voce stayed red-hot at the plate as she hit yet another RBI double to make it a 9-5 game, but they didn’t get any closer as three straight strikeouts ended the contest and Cold Springs dropped its region finale to Sumiton Christian, 9-5.
Voce led the way for Cold Springs with three hits and three RBIs. Black and Chasteen each added a hit and an RBI. Heidi Nichols ended up with a pair of hits and Aaron, Sellers, West and Pearl each collected a hit. The Lady Eagles will travel to take on Fairview Friday.
Other Thursday scores:
West Point 3 – Lawrence County 2 (8 innings) (Baseball)
After taking game one over the Red Devils at home Tuesday night, the Warriors hit the road Thursday with a chance to win the series and secure a playoff spot. It took more than seven innings to do it, but West Point got it done with a 3-2, extra innings win over Lawrence County and can now begin to look ahead to a postseason run.
After four scoreless innings, the Red Devils managed to plate a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 2-0 lead but Aubry Cleghorn scored on an error in the top of the sixth to cut the lead to one. The Warriors struck again with the game on the line in the top of the seventh, scoring on another error to tie the game at 2 and force extra innings.
Will Cochran led off the top of the eighth with a single and two at bats later, Carter Thornton drove an RBI double into center field that brought Bryson Phillips home to score and gave West Point a 3-2 lead. The Warriors collected the final three outs in the bottom of the eighth and earned another trip to the playoffs with the 3-2 road win.
Eli Folds tossed all eight innings in the win, allowing just two runs on four hits and racking up 14 strikeouts for West Point. Thornton (one RBI) and Cochran each posted a pair of hits in the win and Branson Smith added a hit and an RBI as well.
Cullman 9 – Decatur 4 (Softball)
After a tough area loss to Hartselle at home Tuesday night, the Lady Bearcats bounced back with a 9-4 area win over Decatur. Leading the way 2-1 after three innings, Cullman tacked on seven runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a commanding lead and pulled away to win it 9-4.
After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first, an error allowed the ‘Cats to score a pair of runs in the bottom of the second and pull ahead 2-1. That score held until the bottom of the fourth when the bats began to get hot for Cullman. After an error and back to back singles from Haley Shannon and Faith Guest loaded the bases, Chalea Clemmons laced a bases-clearing triple into right field to make it a 5-1 game. Savannah Davis kept it going with an RBI single that made it 6-1 and Emma Claire Wilson drove in Davis with an RBI double to stretch the lead to 7-1. An RBI single from Sarah Herfurth plated another run in the fourth and Carlie Burnham scored on an RBI groundout from Olivia Britton to make it a 9-1 game going into the fifth.
A pair of homeruns allowed Decatur to cut into the lead in the top of the sixth, but it was too little, too late and the Lady Bearcats held on to take the area win 9-4.
Shannon went 3-for-3 at the plate in the win and Clemmons (two hits) led the way with three RBIs. Faith Guest posted a pair of hits and RBIs for Cullman and Burnham added two hits as well.
West Point 8 – Arab 5 (Softball)
The Lady Warriors were back home Thursday night for a big matchup against Arab and after falling behind 5-1 in the top of the third, West Point responded with six runs in the bottom of the fourth to pull ahead for good and went on to beat the Lady Knights 8-5.
A solo homer off the bat of Lexi Shadix put the Lady Warriors in front 1-0 after the opening inning and after Arab posted five runs to pull ahead 5-1 in the top of the third, Shadix blasted her second homer of the day to trim the lead to 5-2 in the bottom of the third.
West Point was able to string some hits together and load the bases early in the bottom of the fourth. Nikki Tyree drew a walk to bring in a run and Lexi Kimbril ripped an RBI single up the middle to cut the lead to 5-4. Shadix drove an RBI single into left field to plate two more runs and give the Lady Warriors a 6-5 lead and before the end of the inning, an error allowed two more runs to score for West Point and extended the lead to 8-5 going into the fifth.
That was all the offense the Lady Warriors needed, and they held on to defeat the Lady Knights at home 8-5. Shadix went 3-for-3 at the plate and racked up four RBIs in the win. Braelee and Kylie Quinn each added a pair of hits for West Point and Kimbril (one hit) and Tyree each drove in an RBI.
Appalachian 11 – Fairview 5 (Softball)
Fairview traveled to take on Appalachian on Thursday afternoon. Both teams got off to strong starts offensively, but the Lady Aggies couldn’t keep it going after that as the Lady Eagles pulled away to take the game, 11-5.
A two-run single and an RBI single in the top of the first quickly gave Appalachian a 3-0 lead, but Fairview countered in its half. Kyleigh Aleman drew a leadoff walk, then Kloie Watson got hit by the pitch. Devan Fulmer lined a two-run double to left field, then one out later, Emma Garcia tied the game at three on an RBI double.
The Lady Eagles broke the tie in the top of the second inning on a two-run double and an RBI groundout. The Lady Aggies loaded the bases on a hit by pitch and back-to-back walks, then Fulmer reached on an error, which allowed Reagan Dunkin and Aleman to score as they made it a 6-5 game. But it was all Appalachian after as they scored the final five runs of the contest and Fairview wound up falling to the Lady Eagles, 11-5.
Fulmer finished with a hit and four RBIs in the game for Fairview. Garcia added a hit and an RBI. Emma Roberts and Savannah Bryson each collected a hit in the contest. The Lady Aggies will host Cold Springs on Friday.
Southeastern 7 – Good Hope 2 (Baseball)
Good Hope looked to break a three-game losing streak as they hosted Southeastern, but they couldn’t get much going offensively as the Raiders wound up dropping the game to the Mustangs, 7-2.
Southeastern quickly jumped out to a 4-0 lead after three innings, but Good Hope got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth. Peyton Seymore and Lane Speegle hit back-to-back singles, then later on, Braxton Marshall hit a one-out RBI double to right field to make it a 4-1 contest. After the Mustangs made it 5-1 in the top of the sixth, the Raiders loaded the bases with one out and Paydon Bagwell hit an RBI single to cut the deficit to three at 5-2. Southeastern added two more runs in the top of the seventh and Good Hope went down in order in their final at-bats, and they ended up falling to the Mustangs 7-2.
Marshall (three hits) and Bagwell (one hit) each collected an RBI in the game for Good Hope. Speegle added a pair of hits and Seymore finished with a hit as well. Good Hope will be a part of the Cullman County Baseball tournament Friday.
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