Alexandria, AL – Answering a challenge from her coach, Alexandria’s Slaton fires a one-hitter as the Valley Cubs beat visiting Oxford.
By Joe Medley
Brian Hess has been known to challenge his Alexandria softball players over the years. It was just Pressley Slaton’s turn, after a tough outing at Hoover this past weekend.
Suffice to say, challenge answered.
Slaton pitched a one-hitter with 10 strikeouts, and Alexandria downed Oxford 6-0 on Monday in their first class of the season.
Her stout outing came two days after she struggled in two of three appearances at Hoover over the weekend. Alexandria (9-3-1) lost to Jasper and Saraland and tied Chelsea.
She was “much better” against Oxtord, Hess said.
“I challenged her a little bit in the last 48 hours, and she responded, which I knew she would,” Hess said. “I told her, this year, it’s never been about her stuff. Her stuff has been good. Everything moves.
“Sometimes, there’s a little bit of relaxation there. She loses focus. When she loses focus, it’s hard to draw it back in, and that’s when we get in some trouble.”
What was the challenge?
“It was that I needed to focus in and really work on stuff and improve myself,” Slaton said “I have the tools to do it.
“Every time I step on the mound, I try and first say, ‘Have confidence in God,’ because I’m not doing it alone, and I think I really had to focus on that and make sure I was turned in.”
Kaelyn Crossley had Oxford’s lone hit, a fourth-inning single.
Slaton contributed to her cause at the plate with a double and RBI.
Allyssa Hunt led Alexandria’s offensive charge, hitting a triple and double with three RBIs. Brenley Sparks went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
“Any time you beat a rival in the county 6-0, I’ll take it,” Hess said. “We had a rough patch this weekend but learned a little about ourselves and made some adjustments.
“I think our lineup can compete with anybody. Again, as long as we can get consistency in the circle, we’ll be fine.”
Berkley Mooney pitched a complete game for Oxford (5-7), allowing seven hits and five earned runs with six strikeouts.
“They got runners on and came up with key hits, and we didn’t hit,” Oxford coach Wendy McKibbin said. “We had one hit all game.
“I thought Berk pitched a really good game, but we’ve got to change our mindset and our approach at the plate.”
Four days after the same two schools clashed for a classic Calhoun County baseball final, Alexandria takes on Oxford in a clash of county softball rivals.
Photos by Joe Medley
