Gardendale head softball coach Barry Brake high-fives Savannah Pennington after her fifth-inning home run against Saraland on Friday in Montgomery. 

MONTGOMERY—The top-ranked Gardendale softball team improved to 50-8 on Friday.

Behind some steady defense and timely hitting, the Rockets captured two wins on the first day of the Class 6A State Tournament.

Game 1: Gardendale 5, Hazel Green 3

Hazel Green freshman Mckenzie Newcomb was sitting them down one after the next. It was quick and efficient, but something changed in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Gardendale senior Chandler Mims and freshman Sarah Beth Brake took turns bouncing two-run line drives off the fence in right field, as the Rockets broke up a no-hit shutout and erased a 3-0 deficit on their way to a 5-3 win over the second-ranked Trojans in the opening round of the Class 6A State Softball Tournament.

Gardendale, after reaching only three base runners through the first five innings of play, scored five runs on five hits in the sixth to claim its first lead of the game, and starting pitcher Kaitlyn Clark closed it with a 1-2-3 effort in the seventh.

The win avenged a 6-3 loss to the defending state champions in last year’s semifinal round.

Center fielder Savannah Pennington started the decisive sixth with a single—her team’s first hit of the game. Carlee McCondichie and Kylee Franklin followed suit with bunt singles to load the bases for Mims, who sent two runs in with a hard-hit single to right. Brake later doubled in the equalizer and the go-ahead run.

Junior Kendall Stricklin took an aggressive approach to the base paths. She provided some insurance with a hard slide at the plate as Jaycee Dill worked a rundown between first and second base.

“I didn’t want to set back and go ‘we’ve got to get another hit,’ let’s force the issue right here. Maybe we get lucky right there on that play to add an insurance run,” said Gardendale head coach Barry Brake of the sixth-inning gamble.

Hazel Green took charge early, as Newcomb pulled a three-run homer well past the left-field wall in the top-half of the first. The Trojans would, however, miss later on with runners aboard. Clark struck out Kelsey McPeters with two on and two out in the third and later snuck a changeup past the bat of Catherine Crabb to leave the bases loaded in the fourth.

Clark finished with six strikeouts in the win.

Game 2: Gardendale 2, Saraland 1

In a game that was hard on the offensive minded, Gardendale center fielder Savannah Pennington took the swing that pushed her Rockets to a 2-1 win in the winners’ bracket of the Class 6A State Softball Tournament.

The junior turned on a two-out, two-run homer in the fifth inning, clearing the fence by a wide gap. It was her third blast of the season and represented Gardendale’s only hit of the contest with runners in scoring position.

Freshman Sarah Beth Brake stared the half-inning with a single and moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jaycee Dill. Pennington’s two-out swing gave the Rockets a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth.

“Savannah had a fantastic day,” said Gardendale head coach Barry Brake. “The whole team has. For us to do what we’re trying to do, it’s got to be every one of them. Whatever your job is at that moment, that’s the most important thing in the world.”

After that, Kaitlyn Clark’s job became pretty clear: Find six outs and take the rest of the night off. She did just that, but not without a little drama.

Saraland crossed its only run of the game in the sixth, cutting the deficit in half. Katie Head scored Karsen Mosley with a two-out double, but Clark killed the rally with a popup—her seventh of the game.

Dill tracked down the final out in the seventh inning with the tying run on base.

Gardendale returns to Lagoon Park on Saturday at 9 a.m. against No. 9 Hartselle. Tonight, they plan on eating dinner as a team and celebrating with some ice cream.

For the home team, Pennington finished 2 for 3 with the two-run home run. Carlee McCondichie tripled while Chandler Mims and Dill finished with one hit apiece.

Erik Harris is the Sports Editor of The North Jefferson News. Email him at njnsports@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jeharris2.