VINEMONT, Ala. – This year’s Cullman County Softball Tournament officially got underway at the Vinemont Sports Complex Monday night and day one was packed with action. The defending champion West Point Lady Warriors played their way back to Tuesday’s county championship game with wins over Vinemont and Good Hope and after dropping a tight opening game against Fairview, Holly Pond bounced back with a pair of big wins to build some momentum going into day two.
Tournament action will resume Tuesday at 2 p.m. with a matchup between Fairview and Holly Pond, followed by a battle between Good Hope and either the Aggies or the Broncos at 4 p.m. The winner of that game will face West Point in the county title game at 6 p.m.
Cullman County Softball Tournament day one recap
Vinemont 14 – Hanceville 4 (Game One)
Hanceville got in the run column first in their opening at-bats on an RBI groundout by Kynzlee Farr, but Vinemont quickly countered in their half with a 10 spot. The big hits came from Angela Harris (RBI double and three-run double), Arleigh Thomason (RBI single), and Katelyn Evans (RBI double). Haley Millwood hit an RBI double in the bottom of the second for the Lady Eagles. Zoe Pitts hit an RBI triple to cut it to 11-2 in the top of the fourth and in the sixth, made it 11-4. Vinemont, though, ended things in their half of the sixth on an RBI single by Thomason and a two-run double by Harris as the Eagles moved on to the next round of the county tournament with a 14-4 win over Hanceville.
Harris finished with four hits and a game-high six RBIs for Vinemont, while Thomason added a hit and two RBIs. For Hanceville, Pitts led the way with a hit and two RBIs.
Fairview 9 – Holly Pond 7 (Game Two)
Both teams came out swinging some hot bats to start out the game. Holly Pond struck first in their opening at-bats as Maggie Nail hit a two-run double, then she later scored on a passed ball to make it 3-0. Fairview countered in their half as their damage came with two outs. The Lady Aggies loaded the bases for Allison Davis, who cleared the bases with a three-run triple to tie the game up at three. The Lady Broncos broke the tie first in the top of the third as Maycie Black scored on a passed ball.
Fairview’s Jaycee Aleman and Ayda Payne each scored on a passed ball in their half to give them a 5-4 lead. The lead kept switching hands early on as the Lady Broncos grabbed a 6-5 lead on a two-run single by Black in the top of the fourth. Once again, the Lady Aggies did their damage with two outs as Aleman hit a three-run home run to give them the lead right back at 8-6, then in the fifth, Jordan Simmons hit an RBI double to make it 9-6. A Black RBI single in the top of the sixth cut it to 9-7, but they wouldn’t get any closer after that as Fairview ended up collecting a 9-7 win over Holly Pond and will move on to the second round.
Aleman and Davis each finished with a hit and three RBIs for Fairview, while Simmons added a pair of hits and an RBI. For Holly Pond, Black finished with a pair of hits and three RBIs, while Nail added a hit and two RBIs.
Good Hope 9 – Cold Springs 8 (Game Three)
Cold Springs got things started in their opening at-bats as Ciara Calvert scored on a Good Hope error to give them the early lead, but the Lady Raiders got that run back in their half on an RBI groundout by Campbell Koch. The Lady Eagles broke the tie in the second as Cameron Baty and Hope Speegle scored on a Good Hope error, then Adriana Young made it 4-1 on an RBI single. In the bottom of the fifth, the Lady Raiders cut it to 4-3 as Natalie Miller scored on a Lady Eagle error and Bailey Keef hit an RBI groundout.
Good Hope got the lead in the top of the sixth as Miller hit an RBI single, then Carley Adams scored on a passed ball and Lexi Steed hit a sacrifice fly as they held a 6-4 lead. Calvert scored on another Good Hope error in the top of the seventh, then later on, Sadie Smith scored on a passed ball to tie the game up at six. The game would be decided in extra innings. In the top of the ninth, Cold Springs struck first on an RBI double by Ciara Calvert and an RBI single by Young, but the Lady Raiders looked for some late-game heroics of their own. Koch hit an RBI single to cut it to 8-7, then Haley Lay hit the game-winning two-run double to left field as Good Hope ended up collecting a 9-8 win over Cold Springs to advance to the second round.
Haley Lay led the way for Good Hope with three hits and a pair of RBIs. Koch added a pair of hits and two RBIs, while Miller ended up with four hits and an RBI. For Cold Springs, Young finished with two hits and two RBIs, while Calvert added a pair of hits and an RBI.
West Point 17 – Vinemont 7 (Game Four)
It was a wild first inning for both teams. Vinemont’s Angela Harris hit an RBI single and Mabry Thompson later added a two-run single, then Berkley Gable scored on a passed ball to give the Lady Eagles an early 4-0 lead. West Point quickly responded in their half. Macie Brown hit a two-run home run, then later on, Bailey Brock added an RBI single and Ella Minck hit a bases-clearing triple to give the Lady Warriors a 6-4 lead.
RBI singles by Harris and Evans tied the game up at six, then Harris scored on a West Point error to give Vinemont a 7-6 lead. The Lady Warriors, though, responded once again in a big way. Bethany Minck hit a two-run triple, then Brinlee Phillips and Lexi Kimbril each added back-to-back RBI doubles to give them a 10-7 lead. Brock added an RBI fielder’s choice, and Ella Minck hit another RBI triple to make it 12-7. The Lady Warriors added four more runs in the bottom of the fourth on RBI singles by Katie Beth Yovino and Ella Minck, Yovino scored on a passed ball, and they got RBI singles from Brown and Phillips as they ended up getting a 17-7 win over Vinemont and will move on to the next round.
Ella Minck led the way for West Point with three hits and four RBIs. Brown added three hits of her own and three RBIs, while Phillips (three hits), Brock (two hits), and Bethany Minck (two hits) each added a pair of RBIs. For Vinemont, Harris finished with a pair of hits and two RBIs, while Thompson added a hit and two RBIs.
Good Hope 15 – Fairview 0 (Game Five)
It was a scoreless game going into the top of the third, but Good Hope quickly erased that with a huge third inning as they sent 14 batters to the plate. The big hits came from Carley Adams (RBI single), Steed (RBI bunt single), Koch (two-run double), and Lay (RBI single) as they jumped out to a 10-0 lead. The Lady Raiders added five more runs in the top of the fourth as Molly Benefield scored on a Lady Aggie error, Steed hit an RBI groundout, Bailey Keef hit a two-run single, and Koch added an RBI double. Good Hope would go on to shut out Fairview, 15-0, and they will move on to the next round.
Koch finished with three hits and three RBIs for Good Hope. Steed added a pair of hits and three RBIs, while Keef ended up with two hits and a pair of RBIs. Addyson Burgess went the distance for the Lady Raiders, allowing just one hit, walking one, and striking out seven. Aleman collected the only hit of the game for Fairview.
Holly Pond 10 – Cold Springs 0 (Game Six)
An RBI single from Madyson Rickman gave the Lady Broncos a 1-0 lead in the top of the first and they added to that lead in the second. A 2-run single off the bat of Lexie Smith made it a 3-0 game and Bai Widner singled later in the inning to plate two more runs and stretch the lead to 5-0 going into the third.
Molly Neal launched an RBI double into center field to put Holly Pond up 6-0 and later in the third, Samantha Giles put two more runs on the board with a double into left field. Rickman led off the top of the fourth with a solo home run to make it a 9-0 game and after a scoreless fifth inning, an RBI single from Neal in the sixth secured a 10-0 win for the Lady Broncos.
Smith earned the win for Holly Pond after tossing five scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and striking out five batters. Rickman led the Lady Broncos with three hits and Widner (two hits), Neal (two hits), Giles (one hit) and Smith (one hit) each posted a pair of RBIs.
Fairview 4 – Hanceville 1 (Game Seven)
The Lady Aggies struck first when Kylie Kovar ripped one into deep right field and made her way all the way around the infield and back across home plate for an inside the park homerun and a 1-0 Fairview lead. Isabella Spinks scored on a fielder’s choice to tie things up at 1 in the top of the second but after a scoreless third inning, the Lady Aggies responded in the fourth.
Addison Phillips ripped a triple into left field to plate a pair of runs in the bottom half of the fourth and give Fairview a 3-1 lead and an RBI double by Ayda Payne extended the Lady Aggies’ lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the fifth. After a scoreless sixth inning, Fairview picked up the final three outs in the top of the seventh to secure a 4-1 win over the Lady Bulldogs.
Phillips (one hit) drove in a pair of runs in the win and Payne (one RBI) finished with a pair of hits. Payne tossed all seven innings for the Lady Aggies in the win, allowing one run on just one hit and racking up 13 strikeouts.
Holly Pond 19 – Vinemont 0 (Game Eight)
The Lady Broncos put this one away early. After reaching third on a triple into right field, Bai Widner scored on an error in the top of the first to put Holly Pond in front 1-0. Back to back RBI doubles from Maggie Nail and Molly Neal stretched the lead to 3-0 going later in the first and in the second inning, the Lady Broncos continued to pile up runs.
An RBI single by Samantha Giles made it a 4-0 game early in the top of the second and two more runs scored on an error later in the inning to make it 6-0. An RBI double from Maycie Black made it 7-0 and she scored on a fielder’s choice a few pitches later to extend the lead to 8-0. Aliyah Ryan punched a 2-run single up the middle to make it a 10-0 game and just one pitch later, Giles shot a 2-run triple into right field to put Holly Pond in front 12-0. The Lady Broncos weren’t done. A double off the bat of Madyson Rickman plated two more runs to make it 14-0 and an RBI single from Black gave Holly Pond a 15-0 advantage going into the third.
The Lady Broncos wrapped things up in the third. Neal scored on a passed ball to put Holly Pond ahead 16-0 and Rickman knocked a bases-clearing double into center field later in the inning to cap off a 19-0 win for the Lady Broncos.
Smith pitched three hitless innings in the win for Holly Pond, collecting five strikeouts. Rickman (two hits) racked up six RBIs for the Lady Broncos and Giles (two hits) drove in three runs of her own.
West Point 11 – Good Hope 1 (Game Nine)
After a scoreless first inning, West Point was able to jump ahead and take an early lead in the top of the second. Alexis Kimbrill scored on a passed ball to make it 1-0 and a sacrifice bunt by Kortni Baker allowed two more runs to score and put the Lady Warriors in front 3-0. Good Hope was able to get one of those runs back in the bottom half of the second, trimming the lead to 3-1, but an error allowed West Point to push another run across in the top of the third and stay on top 4-1 going into the fourth.
The Lady Warriors were able to extend their lead to 7-1 in the top of the fourth thanks to a pair of RBI singles from Bethany Minck and Brinlee Phillips and they continued to add to it in the fifth. RBI singles by Kara Jones and Macayla Wilkins made it a 10-1 game and Liberty Shadix laced an RBI single into left field to put West Point up 11-1. The Lady Warriors collected the final three outs they needed in the bottom half of the fifth and secured an 11-1 win over the Lady Raiders.
Wilkins led West Point with three hits in the win and Bethany Minck (one RBI) and Kimbrill each finished with a pair of hits. Jones tossed all five innings for the Lady Warriors, allowing just one unearned run on four hits and striking out a pair of batters.
Copyright 2023 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
