Alexandria reaches Gulf Coast Classic semifinals, falls to Hewitt-Trussville; PV goes 1-1 in bracket play
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
Gulf Coast Classic II
Alexandria 4, North Little Rock 0
Alexandria 3, Westminister (Fla.) 0
Hewitt-Trussville 5, Alexandria 0
Pleasant Valley 4, Sumiton Christian 3
Westminister (Fla.) 11, Pleasant Valley 3
GULF SHORES – Alexandria drove five hours to make a long run in the Gulf Coast Classic II tournament, beat six teams from four different states along the way and even survived a tornado scare overnight before having it end by one of the best teams from their own state.
The Lady Cubs won their first two games in the knockout stage Wednesday and were one win from playing for the championship, but fell to Class 7A home-state power Hewitt-Trussville in the semifinals 5-0.
Earlier in the day they beat North Little Rock (Ark.) 4-0 and Westminister (Fla.) 3-0. They finished in the final four in a field of more than 40 teams.
“I’m proud of them, especially after last night with the tornado scare,” Lady Cubs coach Brian Hess said. “We had an actual tornado cell come right over our house. It didn’t form until after it got into Mobile Bay, but they said it went over Fort Morgan. I pulled it up on radar and ran it back and, sure enough, that cell came right over our house.
“To go through all they’ve been through this week and to play the teams that we played – we played some great teams – I’m extremely proud of them. They have weathered every storm, pardon the pun, we’ve thrown at them.”
When Hewitt struck for four in the third against Rylee Gattis, they were the first runs the Lady Cubs’ senior had given up in five tournament starts. She had a string of 21 consecutive scoreless tournament innings. Three of the runs scored on a dropped fly ball in the outfield.
Gattis spun shutouts in the first two bracket games. It was a two-hitter over five innings against North Little Rock and a four-hitter over six innings against Westminister. She struck out six and walked none in both games
“She is such a competitor,’ Hess said. “I can’t tell you how many D-I commitments or signees she’s faced this week and she went toe-to-toe with them and on most occasions, outside of one or two, she came away the winner of it. She’s just a gritty competitor. If she stays like this, we’re going to be in a real good situation.”
After outscoring their first six tournament opponents 43-6, the Lady Cubs were held to three hits by Hewitt’s Sarah Hindman. Clancy Bright had two of them and Ashley Phillips, who had at least one hit in every tournament game, had the other.
The Lady Cubs (23-3) took the lead against North Little Rock with three in the third inning. Gattis was 3-for-3 in the game and Jill Cockrell had a pair of hits.
They struck for two in the first against Westminister. Cockrell went 3-for-3 and Ashley Phillips went 2-for-2 with a double. Phillips was 12-for-20 with 13 RBIs in the tournament.
“Two different styles of teams,” Hess said. “Both had strong pitchers. We struggled the first time through and then after that made adjustments.
“I was proud all week, but I was really proud the first two games of the adjustments we made through the lineup. They were good pitchers that we were facing; you may have got us the first time, but the second time you didn’t. As a coach, you’re looking for making adjustments to the game and they did a real good job of that – not just today, but all week.”
Alexandria 000 000 – 0 3 2
Hewitt-Trussville 004 10x – 5 5 1
WP: Sarah Hindman. LP: Rylee Gattis. 2B: Clancy Bright (A).
PV falls in second round
Pleasant Valley went 1-1 in bracket play, edging Sumiton Christian 4-3 before being eliminated by Westminister (Fla.) 11-3. Had the Lady Raiders won their second game, they would have faced Alexandria in the Elite Eight.
Westminster struck for four runs in the first inning and held Pleasant Valley (14-8-1) to two hits. The Lady Raiders’ scored all their runs in the fourth inning. Analee Hurst had an RBI double in the inning.
The Lady Raiders rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to beat Sumiton Christian. Macey Roper had aa pair of hits and Rylee Haynes scored two runs. Haylie Lee pitched three innings of shutout relief to get the win. [*** read more]
