CULLMAN – It took only an hour and 20 minutes for the Cullman Lady Bearcats to end Hartselle's domination on the softball field in area tournament play.
The Lady Bearcats put together a four-run first inning that was enough for Olivia Schwaiger to work with and defeat Hartselle 4-1 in the championship of the AHSAA 6A, Area 15 Tournament Thursday evening.
Cullman captured the area title for the first time as a member of Class 6A in the AHSAA. This was the Lady Bearcats' first title on the diamond since 2010 when they would take five consecutive runner-up berths to their arch rival from Morgan County.
Good pitching from Schwaiger, timely hitting and solid defense sparked Cullman to a pair of victories against Hartselle.
It started in the afternoon with a 3-1 victory in the finals of the winner's bracket.
A turning point in this game occurred in the Cullman fourth with the Lady 'Cats leading 1-0. A foul ball hit by Tiffani Schwaiger was dropped by first baseman Mackenzie Jackson.
If Jackson makes the catch, the inning is over and Cullman has only a 1-run advantage. Jackson bumped the first base bag while going into foul territory and couldn't maintain possession.
Schwaiger got a second chance and made Hartselle with a solid single to right, scoring Elli Dixon and McKensi Burks.
That became important for Cullman with Olivia Schwaiger going to the seventh leading by three and having a no-hitter at the time.
However, Katherine Poe sent a pitch down the right field line for a double and Jackson, who reached on a fielder's choice, scored to close the margin to 3-1.
After a single by Kennadi Hogan put runners on the corners with one out, Schwaiger then showed her excellence from the pitcher's circle with ground ball outs by Brooklyn Walace and Mary Wooley to Hannah Morton at third and Cullman claimed victory.
Hartselle had to turn around and play Austin in the loser's bracket. A three-run homer that just cleared the right field fence by Hogan in the sixth sparked the Lady Tigers to a 4-3 comeback and a rematch with the No. 1 seed.
Cullman greeted Poe with four runs in the first as Morton drove in Jenkins and Sierra Easterwood with a single to center, Dixon laced a single to left scoring Morton, and Olivia Schwaiger went to right field with a single and Dixon was home for a 4-0 lead after the first inning.
Coach Stephanie Conner's Lady 'Cats managed just two hits the rest of the way with Poe staying out of trouble.
For Olivia Schwaiger, she retired the first seven she faced before allowing back-to-back doubles from Sara Faulk and Kaitlyn Spangler that ended her no-hit quest.
Wooley drove a fly ball to center that got Faulk in to make the score 4-1. Schwaiger then ended the inning by getting Kalli Cartee to fly down the left field line.
Cartee started the Hartselle sixth with a triple, but was left there thanks to Schwaiger on three consecutive pop outs to end the threat.
Schwaiger didn't waste much time in the seventh, retiring Hartselle in order on two ground outs and a strike out. The championship came to Cullman at 8:20 p.m.
The Lady Bearcats are 31-16 on the season and will take part in the North Regional next weekend at the Metro Sportsplex in Huntsville.
Hartselle goes to the Rocket City as the Area 15 runner-up and has 31 wins on the season versus 22 losses.
Pairings for the regional will be announced early next week after the area tournaments are all completed.
