Jacksonville, AL – With a spark from an eighth-grader in the circle, top seed Alexandria tops No. 2 Pleasant Valley, wins sixth Calhoun County softball title in eight years.
Calhoun County softball tournament
TUESDAY, March 31
At Woodland Park
First round
Wellborn 5, Saks 3
Oxford 20, Jacksonville Christian 5
Jacksonville 16, Anniston 1
Weaver 7, Piedmont 6
Second round
Alexandria 16, Wellborn, 3
Oxford 5, Ohatchee 4
White Plains 3, Jacksonville 0
Pleasant Valley 9, Weaver 0
Elimination bracket
Ohatchee 13, Anniston 3
Piedmont 10, JCA 4
Weaver 13, Saks 10
Jacksonville 7, Wellborn 4
THURSDAY, April 3
At Woodland Park
Winners’ bracket
Pleasant Valley 4, White Plains 3
Alexandria 5, Oxford 2
Alexandria 12, Pleasant Valley 1
Elimination bracket
Ohatchee 12, Jacksonville 8
Piedmont 11, Weaver 7
White Plains 5, Piedmont 0
Oxford 21, Ohatchee 4
Oxford 6, White Plains 3
FRIDAY, April 4
At Jacksonville State
Elimination game
Pleasant Valley 6, Oxford 5
Finals
Alexandria 7, Pleasant Valley 1
By Joe Medley
Her name is “Rico.” She is a pitcher.
Also known as Reece Carr, she just might help her team go far.
If one knows the tune, one knows.
The eighth-grader got the call to start Friday’s Calhoun County final against No. 2 seed Pleasant Valley, and she delivered as top seed Alexandria rolled to a 7-1 victory on Jacksonville State University’s Jana McGinnis Field.
Alexandria (23-4-2) won its 13th county title in 24 years and sixth in eight years, including 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic nixed the county tournament.
“We talked about it today,” Alexandria coach Brian Hess said. “We jokingly put a little shirt together last year about the standard and had all 12 titles on there.
“I asked them a while ago, ‘Do you want to put a baker’s dozen on this one?’ They were like, ‘Yea!’”
Alexandria dominated this year’s tournament, sweeping through Wellborn, Oxford and Pleasant Valley twice. The Valley Cubs also swept postgame awards, with Charlee Parris named most valuable player, Brenlee Sparks offensive MVP and Pressley Slaton defensive MVP.
The Valley Cubs wore the top seed well, and Carr wore her enhanced role in Alexandria’s pitching rotation well. She pitched a complete game Thursday, spreading out seven hits with six strikeouts and two walks.
She made the all-tournament team, along with six of her teammates.
The youngster who has joined forces with Slaton, a senior and MVP of the 2024 county tournament, to give Alexandria a true 1-2 punch in the circle proved ready for her big-stage moment.
“It was amazing,” she said. “I’m thankful to be on this team and to have the chance to be here with varsity players as an eighth-grader.
“I have to thank my team. They really help me a lot.”
Carr took the circle Thursday to game announcer Mike Webb calling her by her newfound nickname, “Rico.” Funny story.
The Valley Cubs played a tournament at Albertville earlier this season, and rain smudged a lineup sheet. It made Reece look like Rico, and the nickname has stuck.
Carr said she’s not sure how she feels about the nickname, but teammates have incorporated it into a dugout cheer. She has their full confidence.
“Reece did a great job tonight,” Slaton said. “She deserved that start, and I think we just came together as a team for this.”
As for the decision to start Carr in the county final, Hess had cushion. The Valley Cubs got to the final through the winners’ bracket in a double-elimination tournament. Had things not gone so well, there would’ve been an “if” game.
Hess channeled fictional Cleveland Indians manager Lou Brown from the movie “Major League.” He sensed that Carr was due after she struggled in a start against Wellborn on Tuesday.
“She typically, when she has a bad outing, the next outing she’s pretty good,” Hess said. “We let her simmer on it for two days, and she threw exactly like we thought she would. …
“She’s not your typical eighth-grader. She wants to know what she’s doing wrong, and she wants to get better. She does not like it when she’s not playing well. She’s just a competitor.”
Carr pitched through pressure because it took a few innings for Alexandria’s bats to give the Valley Cubs separation from Pleasant Valley.
Hunt’s sacrifice fly scored Parris to make it 1-0 in the bottom of the first. Parris added an RBI triple then scored on a passed ball to make it 3-0 in the third.
Separation came in the fourth inning. Ryan Lumpkin’s single plus and error plated two runners to make it 5-0 and prompted Pleasant Valley to summon Lily Henry to the cirlce. BooBoo Bright followed with an RBI double to make it 6-0.
Slaton’s sacrifice fly made it 7-0 in the fifth.
Carr held Pleasant Valley off of the scoreboard until Ellie Patterson’s RBI single to made it 7-1 in the top of the sixth inning.
“Alexandria has a really good club,” Pleasant Valley coach David Bryant said. “They look ready to be a force in Class 4A, but I was proud of my bunch.”
The Raiders (22-9), No. 1 in Class 2A in the Alabama Sports Writers Association rankings, validated their No. 2 seed. They beat Weaver and White Plains and wrapped two losses to Alexandria around a 6-5 victory over No. 5 Oxford earlier Thursday to reach the finals.
Bryant took heart in Alexa Cranmer’s nine-pitch, two-out at bat in the top of the seventh inning. She fouled off seven pitches before beating out an infield single.
“We played Alexandria twice earlier this year, and we competed with them, but we let up a little bit, and they run-ruled us,” Bryant said. “Today, we wanted to win the game, but the bigger picture was to compete and keep our energy up and intensity up the whole game, and I think we did that.
“We had to play the full seven (innings). My bunch didn’t quite.”
Elimination bracket final
PLEASANT VALLEY 6, OXFORD 5: Aubree Cromer’s RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning regained the lead for Pleasant Valley, and Henry struck out Jayla Jackson with runners on first and second base to end the game.
Oxford tied the game 5-5 on Jordyn Alexanders RBI single in the top of the fourth inning.
Cromer had four RBIs on the day. Her three-run, inside-the-park home run put the Raiders up 5-4 in the second inning.
Cranmer went 2-for-3 with two runs.
Henry got the win, allowing four hits, one walk and one earned run with two strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings of relief.
Oxford (12-12), the No. 5 seed but one of the final three teams playing in the tournament, got two doubles and two RBIs from Madison Murphy. Jackson and Emma Tims-Becerra each had two hits, including a double, apiece, with two runs and one RBI apiece.
All-tournament team
MVP: Charlee Parris, Alexandria.
OFFENSIVE MVP: Brenlee Sparks, Alexandria.
DEFENSIVE MVP: Pressley Slaton, Alexandria.
Alexandria: Reece Carr, Kaden Pritchett, Allyssa Hunt, BooBoo Bright.
Pleasant Valley: Aubree Cromer, Alexa Cranmer, Lily Henry, Haylie Lee.
Oxford: Jayla Jackson, Jordyn Alexander.
White Plains: Leighton Arnold, Sara Kate Adams.
Jacksonville: Dailyn Wood.
Weaver: Maddie Stanford.
Piedmont: Cacey Brothers.
Ohatchee: Mackenzie Luna.
Photo gallery by Brad Campbell/sport-shutter.com
