JASPER — Winning a championship of any sorts is rarely easy, but Cullman softball sure made it look that way at the Paw and Claw Classic, outscoring its four Saturday foes 51-3 en route to the tourney title.

The Class 6A No. 8 Lady Bearcats clinched the crown with a 13-1 thrashing of Tuscaloosa County after downing Briarwood Christian 16-0, Winfield 12-1 and Oak Mountain 10-1 earlier in the day.

Cullman, which had at least 12 hits in all four timed bouts and never allowed an opponent more than five, received massive offensive contributions from its entire lineup.

Hannah Morton led the way, batting a combined 8 for 11 with four doubles and 10 RBIs. Sierra Easterwood drove in the same number of runs while slugging a triple and double as part of a 7-for-13 performance. Claire Jenkins crushed her seventh home run and finished 8 for 14 with a pair of doubles. Taiya Ponder was a contact machine, hitting 9 for 12 with an RBI.

Other big batters for the Black and Gold were Tiffani Schwaiger, five hits, a double and eight RBIs; Kylie Witcher, five hits and six RBIs; Olivia Schwaiger, five hits, four doubles and four RBIs; McKensi Burks, four hits and four RBIs; and Elli Dixon, four hits and three RBIs.

Defensively, Dixon spent all but two innings behind the plate, and Ponder fell over the fence making a catch in center field.

Olivia Schwaiger was absolutely electric in the circle, striking out 17 and going 18 of the squad’s 20 innings without issuing a single walk. The ace, who yielded an average of four hits a game, is now 15-6 on the season with a 1.67 earned run average.

Easterwood tossed the other two innings, and Kaitlyn Brannon worked a pair of frames at catcher.

“They just turned it on today, and it was truly a team effort,” Cullman coach Stephanie Barlow said. “Every single girl that we had out there played a major part, played a major role, and as a coach you can’t ask for anything better than that. I was so proud of them.”

The Bearcats (20-10) are slated to host Corner Monday and head to Sumiton Christian Tuesday before staying on the road for a pair of area clashes Wednesday at Austin and Thursday at Decatur.

“This is what every coach wants,” Barlow said. “You want to peak at the right time and see it all come together, especially after two heartbreaking losses this past week. That’s what I kept telling them — it’s all going to fall, it’s all going to come together, and it did. They didn’t give up.”

‰ Madison Academy 7, West Point 6: The Lady Warriors came up just short in their effort to win Saturday’s Battle on the Border Tournament at Elkmont, falling in the championship game to the Mustangs.

West Point led 6-2, but Madison Academy scored the final five runs — including the game-winner on an RBI triple in the top of the seventh inning.

Darana Campbell, Bailee Yearwood and Tess Hembree each had two-run hits in the title tilt.

“Oh, man, the girls played well as a team,” West Point coach Kevin Sullins said. “We beat some good programs today. I have to brag on my girls, too. We came up here hoping to get better and that’s what we did. I’m proud of the girls.”

‰ West Point 2, Giles County 1: Mallory Walker collected an RBI hit during the Maroon and White’s tight semifinal victory.

‰ West Point 7, North Jackson 5: Katie Elkins had the go-ahead hit in the third inning, while Karra Elam and Yearwood added respective two-run base knocks for the Warriors in a victory earlier in the tournament.

‰ Oak Mountain 10, Good Hope 4: MaKailey Speegle, Erika Woodall, Darby Randolph, Morgan Goodwin and Josie McDonald all had hits, but the Eagles were just too much for the Lady Raiders Saturday at the Paw and Claw Classic.

McDonald took the tough loss, scattering eight hits, two walks and 10 runs over 3 1/3 innings. Mykale Lowe struck out two and gave up two hits in 1 2/3 innings of relief.

‰ Pinson Valley 9, Good Hope 6 (nine innings): Speegle recorded three hits, Woodall and Randolph had singles, and McDonald went the distance in an extra-inning defeat.

McDonald K’d two, walked one and allowed 12 hits.

Good Hope (10-12) will open the county tournament against Vinemont at 10 a.m. Monday at Cold Springs.

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Prep Baseball

‰ Hanceville 10, Falkville 4: The Bulldogs made the best of the latest postponement of the county tournament, tuning up for next week’s playoffs with a play date at Good Hope.

Isaac Hardin (two RBIs) and Isaac Weissend (three runs) paced the 3A No. 6 Purple and Gold, who improved to 21-6, with two hits apiece. Alex Armstrong (two RBIs), Christian James (one RBI), Dant’e Reese (one RBI) and Hayden Loggins each had one. Austin Coker drove in two runs, and Josh Stanley and Kaine Yates both scored twice.

Loggins earned the decision with a strikeout and two hits allowed in a two-inning start. Mark Kubia (one K and one hit) and James (three K’s and four hits) each pitched a pair of frames, and Hardin fanned two in a spotless seventh.

‰ Cullman 5, Collierville (Tenn.) 5: The Bearcats suffered their first extended losing streak of the spring over the weekend, falling in three straight games during a road trip to Tennessee before notching a last-ditch victory to escape Memphis with a 1-3 mark to fall to 35-9 on the season.

The 6A No. 1 Black and Gold were terribly short on offensive firepower in shutout losses to Bartlett (6-0), Houston (7-0) and Arlington (5-0) before notching a win against Collierville on a quirky technicality.

Cullman was tied 5-5 with the home team, but prom night caused the Dragons to call things off early, handing a short-inning triumph to the ’Cats.

Stats weren’t available by deadline.

Cullman will polish things up one last time before itsplayoff series begins next Friday with a Senior Night doubleheader against Sparkman on Monday.

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College Baseball

Cullman product and Auburn ace Keegan Thompson improved to 7-2 this season following the Tigers’ 6-1 win versus No. 3 LSU on Saturday night.

The sophomore phenom allowed six hits and struck out three batters in a complete-game effort against a squad that entered the SEC contest ranked second nationally in team batting average.

“Keegan is special and we say this all the time, but I hope we don’t take him for granted,” Auburn head coach Sunny Golloway said in his postgame press conference. “He’s a special competitor. But I’ve got to give it to our position players. They came out and gave him run support and played great defense. They had fun playing tonight.”

Said LSU coach Paul Mainieri of Thompson, “He’s everything I heard he was. Total package.”