Hayden softball coach John Simmons has a conference with pitcher Hannah Butts and catcher Madison Durham during Thursday’s Class 5A Area 11 Tournament game against Springville at Mortimer Jordan. The Tigers won 3-2 to knock the Wildcats out of the playoffs.

Hayden softball coach John Simmons would like a do-over.

He abandoned his plans to have pitcher Hannah Butts throw only outside balls to Springville’s Savannah Hennings after getting a two strikes, even though the Tigers’ potential winning run was standing on second base in the person of Tanner Earley.

That didn’t work out so well.

Hennigs, better known as Springville’s ace pitcher, reminded Hayden that she’s pretty handy in the batter’s box as well, smacking a two-out double to right-center field to score Earley in the bottom of the sixth inning.

That run gave the fifth-ranked Tigers a 3-2 lead that would hold up through the top of the seventh, eliminating Hayden from the playoffs in the Class 5A Area 11 Tournament Thursday night at Mortimer Jordan.

“Yeah, I’d like to have that one back,” Simmons said. “I should never had made that call with first base open. It was my fault.”

Springville started out with an early lead, thanks to a sacrifice fly by Kolyn Kyser that scored Sydne Waldrop, followed by a solo home run by Kirsten Gipson.

Hayden responded in the fourth inning with a lead-off solo homer by Mara Conner.

The Cats then tied the game in the top of the sixth when Conner came home after Madison Durham reached on an error by Tiger first baseman Alex Bailey. Durham collided hard with Bailey on the play, and Bailey was taken out after being shaken up.

Hennings, one of the state’s top pithcers and a Jacksonville State signee, came off a 5-4 nine-inning loss to Pleasant Grove the night before by striking out eight Hayden batters.

Butts struck out two and walked four, giving up five hits.

Hayden started out the tournament Wednesday with a 17-2 three-inning win over Erwin, with Sara Day getting three hits. But they then were on the losing end of a 15-0, four-inning no-hitter from Jordan’s Heather Parker, which featured home runs by Morgan Estell, Danae Hays and Parker.

While the Wildcats faltered, the Devils breezed through the brackets, following up the Hayden win with a Pleasant Grove 10-0 shutout in five innings on Thursday.

That set up a finals Friday, in which Springville essentially conceded the game to the Devils, resting a tired Hennings and sending sophomore McKinley Tribble in.

Jordan battered Tribble mercilessly, cranking out 18 hits in 32/3 innings. Hays applied the finishing touch with a two-run homer to left field, her second of the game, to give them a 16-0 run-rule win over the Tigers.

Haylie McCleney was 3-for-3 with a double and led off every inning. Parker was also 3-for-3, and catcher Shelby McGraw sent a Tribble pitch deep over the center field fence for her first homer of the year.

Hays now has 10 home runs, passing Blair Johnson’s nine. Johnson, out for the last month with a broken arm, may return to the lineup Friday in regional play at Liberty Park.