Calhoun County, AL – With Calhoun County seeding meeting looming, Piedmont improves to 10-2 against county competition with victory over Oxford
With seedings for the Calhoun County softball tournament to be determined, Piedmont has carved itself a nice place in the discussion. Savannah Smith struck out 10 batters en route to a four-hitter, and Armoni Perry tripled and drove in a run as the Bulldogs beat Class 6A Oxford 2-0 on Thursday at Choccolocco Park. The county seeding meeting is Sunday at Wellborn High School, and Piedmont’s record against county competition stands at 10-2. The Class 3A Bulldogs are 2-1 against 6A Oxford and 4A White Plains, 1-0 against 5A Alexandria, 1-0 against 4A Jacksonville and a combined 4-0 against 3A opponents Wellborn, Saks and Weaver. Oxford (11-3) and Alexandria (16-12) are ranked in their classifications in the Alabama Sports Writers Association poll. White Plains (12-8) has been nominated for consideration in 4A.
Piedmont (15-7), having made the state tournament for the first two times in the program’s fast-pitch history over the past two seasons, is No. 5 in the 3A top 10. The Bulldogs won the White Plains Lady Wildcat Invitational, beating Oxford, Alexandria and White Plains along the way. Oxford also beat Piedmont in pool play. Piedmont made the semifinals of the Hixson (Tenn.) High School tournament this past weekend. “I am proud of how our team has been playing lately,” Piedmont coach Rachel Smith said. “We’ve had a lot of girls step up at big times and make plays to help us win games against some tough competition. “We understand that we have to continue to improve and stay hungry. I really like this team and their work ethic. It’s a fun, competitive bunch.”
Piedmont also got an RBI from Abby Baird on Thursday, and Ava Pope had two of the Bulldogs’ six hits. Kaelyn Crossley had two of Oxford’s four hits, including a triple.
CLEBURNE COUNTY 5, JACKSONVILLE 3: Kaden Pritchett went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs to lead the Tigers. Cleburne County also got a hit and RBI apiece from Cori Austin and Humphries. Carlee Hiett pitched a complete game, spreading seven hits over seven innings and striking out five batters with one walk. Sara Kate Adams led the way for Jacksonville with a double, two RBIs and a run. Lacey Barnes went 3-for-4 with a triple and a run. Carli Fritts struck out eight batters over seven innings and held Cleburne County to five hits but gave up five earned runs.
MUNFORD 16, TALLADEGA 1: Khloe Shears pitched two perfect innings, striking out all six batters she faced. Emma Gaither held Talladega to its lone run in two innings of relief.
Kastin Lathem went 5-for-5 with a home run. Chloe Pickette and Blair Darby added three hits apiece, and Jena Gaither’s two hits included a home run.
Harrison’s grand slam highlights Oxford’s sweep of Pell City; eighth-inning dramatics help Alexandria split with Class 7A Baker; Jacksonville and Donoho win
Hayes Harrison’s grand slam in Thursday’s first game highlighted the day for Oxford, who went on to sweep Pell City 7-3 and 4-2 In Class 6A, Area 13 baseball action. Two victories Thursday gave Oxford a sweep of the two area counters, including a 7-5 victory Tuesday at Choccolocco Park, a victory in the tiebreaker game. The victories came hours after Oxford (20-5) ascended one spot to No. 1 Class 6A in the Alabama Sports Writers Association poll. The Yellow Jackets are also No. 1 in the Prep Baseball Report rankings.
Harrison’s two-out, full-count grand slam broke a 3-3 tie in the top of the seventh inning in Thursday’s first game. Oxford also got a double apiece from Peyton Watts and Forrest Heacock. Sam Robertson went 2-for-2 with an RBI, and Carter Johnson had two hits with an RBI. Trace Adams had a single and RBI.
Watts pitched three perfect innings of relief with five strikeouts for the win. Johnson pitched the first four innings. In Thursday’s second game, Watts, Harrison, Robertson and Caleb Thomas had an RBI apiece. Eli Bozeman and Roby Brooks combined to hold Pell City to three hits. Bozeman struck out six batters over three innings,and Brooks got the win three strikeouts in four innings.
ALEXANDRIA 5-1, BAKER 3-5: Alexandria, No. 3 in Class 5A, split with 7A Baker, which is receiving votes in the ASWA poll. This comes on the heels of Alexandria (17-5) beating 5A No. 2 Mobile Christian 4-0 on Tuesday. In Game 1, Tripp Patterson went the distance in an eight-inning game, allowing nine hits and two earned runs with a walk and two strikeouts.
Alexandria took the lead with two runs in the top of the eighth inning. Ian Cartwright led off with a double and scored on Aiden Brunner’s single. Seth Johnson singled and Zach Baskins walked ahead of Samuel Henegar, who singled Johnson home. Brunner went 4-for-4 with an RBI, and Henegar went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Ty Brown also had an RBI. In Game 2, Brayden Thacker and Cartwright combined to hold Baker to six hits. Cartwright pitched two innings of hitless relief with three strikeouts and three walks. Brown had two of Alexandria’s four hits. Aaron Johnson and Deshaun Foster had a hit space, and Johnson had an RBI.
DONOHO 4, JACKSONVILLE CHRISTIAN 0: Blake Sewell and Nic Thompson combined to throw a two-hitter, and Donoho won in its first game since March 16. Ranked No. 4 in Class 2A in the latest ASWA poll, the Falcons improved to 11-1. Sewell got the win, working five innings. He struck out nine batters and allowed two hits.
Thompson worked a hitless two innings with four strikeouts and one walk. He also hit a solo home run. JCA’s Cam Moses spread out five hits with one earned run allowed in 5 2/3 inning, striking out six batters but allowing six walks. He also had one of JCA’s two hits. Ethan Fair retired the only batter he faced.
JACKSONVILLE 11, CLEBURNE COUNTY 0: Ryan Mitchell pitched a three-hitter over five innings, striking out four batters with no walks, and Jacksonville pounded out 15 hits in a Class 4A, Area 9 game. Will Greenwood, Jim Ogle, Jackson Bonner and Drew Pridgen had two RBIs apiece. Ogle and Pridgen had three hits apiece. Greenwood, Bonner and Gavin Peeler had two hits apiece. Peeler and Grant Patterson each had an RBI. [read more sports stories…]
