Fultondale senior Kaylen Madison takes a pitch on Tuesday during a mercy-rule win over Indian Springs. 

It was nothing new for the Fultondale softball team.

With two mercy-rule victories over Indian Springs on Tuesday in the Class 3A, Area 8 Tournament, the Wildcats captured their third straight conference championship and extended their area winning streak to three years.

“They’ve worked really hard, so they deserve it and I’m super proud of them,” said Fultondale head coach Kristen McGrath, who chose to pitch sophomore Morgan Rascoe in Round 1 followed by senior Kayla Phillips in the tournament finals.

Both girls worked shutouts to push Fultondale into the South-Central Regional Tournament in Troy next week.

“We’ve had to rely on them so much this year and they’ve done a really good job of going at those hitters and picking us up,” she continued.

Round 1: Fultondale 17, Indian Springs 0 (3 innings)

Sophomore righty Morgan Rascoe didn’t have to throw many pitches to earn the shutout win on Tuesday afternoon in the tournament opener. She tossed a quick 1-2-3 first inning and when she returned to the circle in the top of the second, she did so with a commanding 12-0 lead over Indian Springs.

Kaylen Madison, Jenesis Morgan, Kiersten Adams, Breanna Lindsey and Madison Carlton each drove in runs for the Wildcats in the home-half of the first, as they rolled twice through the lineup and essentially punched their ticket to Troy with one plate appearance.

Indian Springs starter Moya Cassady was chased in the second after Carlton lined an RBI single off the right-hander’s leg, briefly pausing the game as she received medical attention. She later hobbled off the field with a smile and returned to play shortstop in the area finals.

Roscoe pitched three scoreless innings for Fultondale, surrendering three hits and recording two strikeouts.

Carlton, Adams and Madison brought some pop to the Wildcats’ lineup with three RBIs apiece. Morgan swung in a pair of runs for the home team.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7			R
Fultondale	12	5	–	–	–	–	–			17
Indian Sp.	0	0	0	–	–	–	–			0

Area championship: Fultondale 10, Indian Springs 0 (5 innings)

It took the Wildcats a while to find their swing but once they timed up Indian Springs left-hander Grace O’Malley, the runs poured in quickly.

Senior pitcher Kayla Phillips enacted the 10-run rule with a walk-off line drive into the right-field grass, punctuating a seven-run fifth inning that sent the 2018 Area 8 championship trophy to Fultondale High School. That was her second RBI of the inning.

“I knew what I needed to do—I needed to hit it in a hole so I tried to find that hole in right field and I hit it right in the sweet spot,” said Phillips. “It felt good!”

The home team had struggled to plate runs on O’Malley for four innings. They carried a 3-0 advantage into the bottom of the fifth before the offense caught fire. Phillips, Jenesis Morgan, Mariah Moore and Kelsey Goodwin each slapped in runs for the Wildcats.

Meanwhile, the defense was rock solid from start to finish. Phillips hurled a one-hitter while striking out six batters in five scoreless innings. She had to wait a long time to land the ace role in McGrath’s rotation, but years of learning from 2017 graduate Kayla Jasper has been vital for Phillips.

“She taught me how to calm myself in hard situations and being patient over the years has really made this sweet for me in my last year because it’s all on me, which feels amazing,” said Phillips after the game.

Indian Springs came close to taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but junior catcher Lindsey Harris ran down a passed ball and underhanded it to Phillips just in time to apply the tag at the plate.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7			R
Fultondale	2	0	1	0	7	–	–			10
Indian Sp.	0	0	0	0	0	–	–			0

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