PREP SOFTBALL: Lady Bulldogs open North Central Regional Tournament with pair of big-time triumphs; Cold Springs, West Point eliminated
Published 10:04 pm Thursday, May 10, 2018
- Cold Springs’ Hayden Goodwin watches the ball during Thursday’s bout.
Addison’s softball team couldn’t be stopped at Thursday’s North Central Regional Tournament.
The Lady Bulldogs kicked off an excellent performance in Tuscaloosa with a 14 victory against Cedar Bluff in five innings before securing an 11-1 triumph — also in five innings — versus fourth-ranked Appalachian at Bowers Park to put
themselves in prime position to earn a spot in the Class 1A state tournament.
Addison garnered 17 hits in the nightcap.
Cecilee Gaither (four RBIs), Destiny Walker (RBI) and Abbie Chambless (RBI) each collected three hits, while Macey Butler (RBI), Lexie Cunningham (RBI), Laken Tyree (RBI) and Anna Grace Luker came up with two hits apiece in the stellar effort.
Luker allowed four hits and struck out one inside the circle.
“I honestly don’t know how we hit the ball so well,” Walker said. “We kind of walked out there thinking we had nothing to lose, so we put it all out there. Everything just turned positive.”
Added Gaither: “It’s awesome. We woke up and were like, ‘It’s time to play.’ We beat the cover off the softball in the first game and took that into the next game.”
The Lady Bulldogs (16-21) will play No. 2 South Lamar on Friday at 10:30 a.m. A win would advance them to Montgomery for the first time since 2014, while a defeat would require a victory later in the day to accomplish the same feat.
Not the worst position to be in moving forward.
“I never expected it,” said Walker, a junior shortstop. “But it’s really great to be here and to be working together.”
% Addison 14, Cedar Bluff 1: The Lady Bulldogs wasted no time getting the hit parade started, earning a five-inning victory against the Lady Tigers on Thursday.
Cecilee Gaither had an inside-the-park home run to punctuate a two-hit, four-RBI outing. Abbie Chambless also recorded two hits and four RBIs, while Anna Grace Luker (two RBIs) and Destiny Walker provided two hits apiece as well.
Madison Aderholt (two RBIs), Laken Tyree (RBI) and Kendra Tyree rounded out the offensive performance with one hit apiece.
Luker allowed two hits and struck out four.
Class 5A
% Pleasant Grove 2, West Point 1: The Lady Warriors watched their season come to a close on Thursday following a tough one-run loss to the Lady Spartans at Bowers Park in Tuscaloosa.
Pleasant Grove plated the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Molly Pendley (RBI) provided two hits, while Carlie Wilkins, Avery McClure and Gracie Abbott swatted one hit apiece for West Point, which capped off the spring with a 15-19-2 record.
% Cleburne County 7, West Point 6: The Lady Warriors weren’t able to get off to a solid start on Thursday, dropping their North Central Regional Tournament opener against the Lady Tigers by just one run.
Avery McClure (RBI), Molly Pendley (RBI) and Carlie Wilkins each claimed two hits in the loss, while Gracie Abbott (two RBIs), Olivia Ball and Braelee Quinn delivered one hit apiece as well.
West Point scratched across five runs in the fourth inning to snag a 6-5 lead but couldn’t hold off Cleburne County in final few frames.
North Regional Tournament (Huntsville)
Cold Springs simply couldn’t get things going on Thursday.
The Class 2A No. 10 Lady Eagles opened the North Regional Tournament at the Metro Kiwanis Sportsplex in Huntsville with a 5-0 loss to eighth-ranked Ider before being eliminated after dropping a 12-2 contest to No. 3 Lamar County in five innings later in the day.
Drew Sanders, the squad’s lone senior, racked up three hits and collected one RBI for Cold Springs (22-12).
Lacey Rice, Kylon Hamby and Hayden Goodwin had two hits apiece, while Anna Kate Voce (RBI), Crimson Gann, Victoria Freeman and Morgan Chasteen contributed one hit apiece.
Despite the early exit, coach Patrick West is extremely optimistic his team can return to Huntsville in 2019.
“Drew is a tough senior to lose, but we’ve got a lot of kids coming back,” he said. “We’re excited about the future. We’re going to have to put in a lot of hard work, though.”