Calhoun County, AL – After steep jump in class, Donoho’s girls return to state in tennis; Ragland splits, but four area baseball teams suffer first-round sweeps; Oxford softball wins eighth in a row; Jacksonville, Oxford girls win in soccer; WP girls win own golf invitational
The AHSAA’s competitive balance system for private schools dealt Donoho a brutal challenge in tennis this season, but the Falcons are headed back to the state tournament.
Blair Kitchen won the No. 5 singles court and teamed with Anne Marie Harris to win the No. 3 doubles court, and Donoho finished as runner up in the Class 4A-5A Section 6 tournament Thursday in Boaz.
The Falcons will compete as a team in the state tournament, where they finished as 1A-3A state runner up the past two years.
The competitive balance system forces private schools to move up classification when they’ve earned enough points. Donoho’s runner-up finishes at state won them enough points to have to move up.
In sports without bunched classification divisions, that means moving up one notch … from Class 1A to 2A, or 2A to 3A, and so on. Alabama High School Athletic Association classification divisions for tennis come in bunches … 1A-3A, 4A-5A, 6A and 7A.
Moving up for Donoho meant that a school with 1A enrollment had to play at the 4A-5A level this season, yet the Falcons scored 47 points … four less than sectional champion Sardis, a Class 5A public school.
Donoho had runner-up finishes on five courts: Claire Hillman, No. 1 singles; Lily Grace Draper, No. 2 single; Mary Marshall Perry, No. 3 singles; Hillman/Draper, No. 1 doubles; and Perry/Avery Barnett, No. 2 doubles.
Donoho’s girls will join two other teams from Calhoun County that qualified for state. Faith Christian’s boys won their 1A-3A sectional, and Oxford’s boys took second in their 6A sectional.
Baseball
Thursday was a rough day for four area teams that played their best-of-3 first-round playoff series, with Weaver, Cleburne County and Handley all eliminated in two games.
Weaver lost at Phil Campbell, 22-1 and 10-0. In 4A, Cleburne County lost to Brooks 3-1 and 9-0, and Bayside Academy beat Handley 15-0 and 9-3. Russellville swept its 5A series with Southside, 12-4 and 13-1.
Class 1A Ragland was the nearest team to get through the day with a split against Hackleburg, losing 4-3 and winning 13-8. Game 3 is Friday at 1 p.m.
The remaining area teams in the playoffs start Friday:
Class 1A
—Kinston at Wadley, April 21 (3 and 5 p.m.); April 22 (if necessary, 2 p.m.)
—Spring Garden at Sumiton Christian, April 21 (1 and 3:30 p.m.); April 22 (if necessary, 1 p.m.)
Class 2A
—Ranburne at Bayshore Christian, April 21 (1 and 3 p.m.); April 22 (if necessary, noon)
—Sulligent at Donoho, April 21 (4 and 6:30 p.m.); April 22 (if necessary, 2 p.m.)
Class 3A
—Colbert County at Piedmont, April 21 (5 and 7:30 p.m.); April 22 (if necessary, 2 p.m.)
Class 4A
—UMS-Wright at Munford (18-4), April 21 (4:30 and 7 p.m.); April 22 (if necessary, 1 p.m.)
—West Limestone at Jacksonville, April 21 (4:30 and 7 p.m.); April 22 (if necessary, 1 p.m.)
Class 5A
—Jasper at Alexandria, April 21 (4:30 and 7 p.m.); April 22 (if necessary, 2 p.m.)
Class 6A
—Center Point at Oxford, April 21 (4:30 and 7 p.m.); April 22 (if necessary, 1 p.m.)
Softball
OXFORD 4, CHEROKEE COUNTY 3: Adajiah Wilson’s two-run triple with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning gave Oxford a walk-off victory.
The Yellow Jackets (22-6) have won eight consecutive games since Piedmont eliminated them in the Calhoun County tournament April 5.
Oxford also got a single and RBI from Kenlee Rodgers.
Kaelyn Crossley pitched the first five innings, spreading out five hits with three strikeouts and a walk. Raina Zachery pitched the final two innings and got the win.
Soccer
JACKSONVILLE 6, WHITE PLAINS 0: At JSU, Willa Kate Walker led Jacksonville with two goals. Sarah Sloughy, Kylie Terrell, Addison Becker and Emma Easterling scored one apiece. Joeh Kim assisted three goals, and goalie Alexis Johnson got the shutout.
Jacksonville finished 4-0 in Class 4A, Area 5 play and improved to 10-3-1 overall.
OXFORD 1, FORT PAYNE 0: After a scoreless regulation, Oxford prevailed in a penalty-kick shootout, 4-2. Sawyer Brooks, Mia Munoz, Macie Williams and Hannah Grace Robbins all put the ball in the net. Goalie Reygan White kept it scoreless in regulation and stopped Fort Payne’s third and fourth penalty kicks.
Golf
WHITE PLAINS WINS: White Plain’s girls’ golf team took first place in the White Plains Invitational on Thursday at Silver Lakes, and Calhoun County champion Isabel Rogers won low medalist at 3-over-par 75. Rachel Gattis and Alli Presley for made the all-tournament team. {read more sports stories…}
