All top four seeds advance in Calhoun County Softball Tournament, Anniston scores its first county tourney victory
CALHOUN COUNTY TOURNAMENT
At Woodland Park
Monday’s games
Ohatchee 10, Saks 2
Jacksonville 8, Wellborn 5
Pleasant Valley 16, Faith Christian 0
Weaver 12, Anniston 1
Oxford 14, Jacksonville Christian 0
White Plains 8, Ohatchee 0
Piedmont 9, Jacksonville 4
Pleasant Valley 8, Weaver 2
Alexandria 2, Oxford 0
Anniston 8, Faith 4 (Faith eliminated)
Jacksonville 9, JCA 0 (JCA eliminated)
Weaver 9, Saks 2 (Saks eliminated)
Oxford 11, Wellborn 0 (Wellborn eliminated)
Ohatchee 16, Anniston 1 (Anniston eliminated)
Thursday’s games
Game 15: White Plains vs. Piedmont, 3 p.m. (F1)
Game 16: Pleasant Valley vs. Alexandria, 3 p.m. (F2)
Game 17: Ohatchee vs. Jacksonville, 3 p.m. (F3)
Game 18: Weaver vs. Oxford, 3 p.m. (F4)
Game 19: PV-Alexandria loser vs. Ohatchee-Jacksonville winner, 4:30 p.m. (F1)
Game 20: Weaver-Oxford winner vs. White Plains-Piedmont loser. 4:30 p.m. (F2)
Game 21: White Plains-Piedmont winner vs. Pleasant Valley-Alexandria winner, 6 p.m. (F1)
Game 22: Winner 19 vs. Winner 20, 6 p.m. (F2)
By Al Muskewitz
Some teams survived, some teams advanced, some teams survived and advanced and some teams made history.
That’s how the busy first day of the Calhoun County Softball Tournament went Monday at Woodland Park.
All four top seeds — Alexandria, White Plains, Piedmont and Pleasant Valley — advanced through the winner’s bracket and Anniston made a little history with its first ever county tournament win.
Alexandria edged a determined Oxford team 2-0 despite some poor execution on the bases that prompted some extra practice in that area back on campus.
Lady Cubs coach Brian Hess held his team’s base running to account after running itself out of a pair of runs in the close game. Oxford was a team on a mission having been seeded eighth in the field and played like it had something to prove.
White Plains had the easiest time of the four top seeds, blanking Ohatchee 8-0.
Piedmont’s deep bench delivered in a come-from-behind 9-4 win over Jacksonville.
PV topped Weaver 8-2. The Lady Raiders jumped out to a 5-0 lead, lost a little focus, then got back on track to finish the job.
Anniston scored its first county tourney win, coming from behind to beat Faith Christian 8-4 in an elimination game. The Lady Dawgs trailed 4-0 after three innings, then scored four runs in each of its last two bats.
This story will be updated.
No. 1 Alexandria 2, Oxford 0
The Lady Cubs (28-6) won their tournament opener behind a one-hit, 10-strikeout shutout by Rylee Gattis, but their work for the night was not done with the final out.
Coach Brian Hess held them to account for a lack of execution on the base paths, prompting a little extra practice when they got back to school.
The Lady Cubs ran themselves out of at least two runs when Ashley Phillips was out at the plate trying to score behind Jill Cockrell on Chloe Gattis’ grounder in the third and Addie Jennings was cut down trying to score on Clancy Bright’s pop into short right field in the fourth.
Hess was sending the runners on both plays, but both hesitated just enough to create close plays at the plate. They made similar base-running blunders over the weekend in the Brooks Tournament.
“This is something that’s been going on all weekend,” Hess said. “They’ve won games, relied on pitching on defense I get, but execution on the bases is inexcusable. Hitting, you give that to the pitcher; base running is inexcusable. You’ve got to make those plays; you’ve got to be able to run the bases and be aggressive.
“We’ve always been an aggressive team and tonight we were not.”
It had the potential to hurt them against an Oxford team Hess knew was coming in with something to prove. The Lady Jackets didn’t even come up in the seeding meeting conversation until half the field was placed and only then when somebody noticed were they installed at No. 8.
“I told them Oxford’s mad,” Hess said. “They have a reason to be mad. They have a reason to want to win this game because they got disrespected yesterday.
“We were in the same position in 2013. We had some issues going on and I didn’t show up at the meeting and (White Plains coach) Rachel Ford calls me and says you’re a 9 seed and I’m going to have to see you in the second round and I’m not happy, and then we ended up beating them.”
The base-running blunders didn’t end up hurting them because Gattis was her usual Rylee-able self in the circle. She retired the first nine batters she faced before Ashlyn Burns led off the fourth with a single.
The Lady Jackets put runners at second and third with one out in the inning, but Gattis got out of the jam with two strikeouts. She then struck out the side in order in the fifth.
Oxford pitcher Berkley Mooney was just as strong. She gave five hits, two unearned runs, walked none and struck out four. She came back in the elimination game and came within a fourth-inning walk of a perfect game in blanking Wellborn 11-0.
The Lady Cubs survived and advanced, but the mistakes on the bases prompted a little more work. The Lady Cubs went back to school and worked for 45 minutes on nothing but base-running.
“Hopefully we’ll get this squared away before Thursday,” Hess said. “I told them if they don’t figure it out soon, they’re fixin’ to get embarrassed and embarrassed quick. I promise you Thursday night we will be aggressive and we’ll get back to where we’re supposed to be, but they just kind of sloughed off tonight. I have no idea what’s going on.”
Oxford 000 00 – 0 1 4
Alexandria 001 01 – 2 5 0
WP: Rylee Gattis. LP: Berkley Mooney. 2B: Addie Jennings (A).
No. 2 White Plains, Ohatchee 0
White Plains coach Rachel Ford was “very pleased” with the energy her team brought to the park to defend its highest seed since being the No. 1 in 2015.
Tournament openers bring an element of uncertainty about how a team is going to react to the situation, but the second-seeded Lady Wildcats (22-4) responded with 10 hits and a two-hit shutout.
“I felt like the girls had their heads on straight and they were ready to play ball,” Ford said. “I was pleased with the outing. We got to get a lot of playing time for some younger girls and that is always a good thing.”
Leighton Arnold and Jaylee Crow held the Lady Indians to two singles and struck out struck out six.
Adriana Sotelo had two hits and three RBIs to lead White Plains’ offense. Callyn Martin drove in two runs and Courtnee Masson went 2-for-2 with a triple and an RBI single.
“I’m just proud of her,” Ford said of Masson. “Going into spring break she was struggling a little bit, sometimes she was even the flex. She went to work, got some hitting lessons and put in some extra effort and it paid off. She’s a lot stronger at the plate now because of that.
“She shows me she wants it all the time. She’s a hard worker and is going to get extra cuts in to make sure she’s where she needs to be.”
Ohatchee 000 00 – 0 2 0
White Plains 314 0x – 8 10 0
WP: Leighton Arnold. LP: Lexi Thomas. 2B: Adriana Sotelo (W), Callie Richards (W), Emma Howard (W). 3B: Courtnee Masson (W).
No. 3 Piedmont 9, Jacksonville 4
Piedmont coach Rachel Smith praised her team’s depth after she gave several reserves a chance to contribute in a tight game and they played a big role in the Lady Bulldogs’ rally.
The Lady Bulldogs (12-7) rallied from an early 2-0 deficit and broke a 2-2 tie with six runs in the third inning.
“Today we had some people who struggled at the plate and we used our deep bench to help us out,” Smith said. “Those people stepped up and came through.
“That’s one of the great things about having so many players who want to be involved and are happy to play a role. When their name is called, they step up. I hope that’s how everybody in our dugout feels.
“I think we’re dressing 25 players today. We called on several girls who were just ready. They haven’t been playing every day but they were ready to go in, so I’m really proud of those girls who got their opportunity and came through when we needed them.”
The Lady Bulldogs pinch-ran seventh-grader Cadence Buttram, then pinch-hit Ava Pope and Carson Young and they executed. Buttram scored, Pope had a hit and Young went 2-for-2 with two RBIs.
Emma Grace Todd went 3-for-3 with two RBIs at the top of the lineup to lead Piedmont’s offense. Emily Farmer earned the win in the circle.
Jacksonville 200 02 – 4 4 2
Piedmont 116 1x – 9 10 2
WP: Emily Farmer. LP: Carli Fritts. 2B: Keelie Leach (J), Emma Grace Todd (P), Carson Young (P), Savannah Smith (P). 3B: Dailyn Wood (J).
Pleasant Valley 8, Weaver 2
Pleasant Valley was dropping bunts all over the place in the first inning and scored five runs to seize control of the game, but when the Lady Raiders (18-11-1) went back in the field they lost a little focus. It wasn’t anything a little talking to from the coach couldn’t set right.
David Bryant went out to deliver a little vocal inspiration and the Lady Raiders got the message. They got back on track and finished the job.
“I felt like after the big first inning my bunch relaxed and we had some errors and gave up some runs; we’ve got to do better than that,” Bryant said. “We can’t play Alexandria or get to where we want to go by letting our foot off the gas. We’ve got to grow up and learn how to keep our foot on the gas pedal the whole time. Play like we’re three runs down all the time, we’ll be fine.
“We’re a blue-collar team and if we don’t show up and play like we’re three runs down we’re average.”
The Lady Raiders’ first seven batters reached safely against their area rival and the first five scored. They dropped five bunts in the uprising. Unlike past years when they could have waaited on the three-run homer, it’s just the way they have to play these days.
“Our short game was much improved today,” Bryant said. “We’ve been working on that. Being a blue-collar team, small-ball is a big part of what we do. If we don’t small ball and struggle at the plate, you don’t score and if you don’t score you don’t look good and you don’t feel good and you don’t play good.
“You’ve gotta score runs. If you score runs, all is well. Most of the time.”
Macey Roper, winning pitcher Lily Henry and Madyson Cromer all had two hits in the game for PV. Cromer drove in a pair of runs.
It was the Lady Raiders’ second game of the day. They blanked Faith Christian in their opener16-0 behind a combined no-hitter by Morgan Blohm and Analee Hurst and five RBIs from Henry.
The two wins send them to play top-seeded Alexandria, the team they battled long into the night in the championship game last year.
Weaver 020 00 – 2 6 5
Pleasant Valley 510 2x – 8 7 2
WP: Lily Henry. LP: Hannah Hise. 2B: Madyson Cromer (PV), Macey Roper (PV).
Lady Bulldogs make history
Anniston scored its first-ever Calhoun County Tournament win staving off elimination with an 8-4 come-from-behind victory over Faith Christian in the second of its three games.
The Lady Bulldogs trailed 4-0 in the third inning, then scored four runs in each of their last two bats. Layla Tyus hit a three-run homer in their game-tying third-inning rally and had a run-scoring double in the go-ahead fourth.
“It’s a great feeling,” coach Dwanne Smedley said. “These girls have been working hard for the past two years. We’ve got a bunch of seventh- and eighth-graders; we have one senior. For them to win their first county game as seventh and eighth graders, I think it’s going to be way better in the future.
“Our girls are having to learn how to win; we’re trying to get over that hump. We’re playing and you’re used to losing, you get kind of comfortable losing, so we’re trying to teach the winning in them. They’re doing a great job of accepting coaching.”
The historical significance of the win wasn’t lost on eighth-grade pitcher Lyric Williams. She allowed six hits and struck out six in picking up the victory.
“It made me feel real good,” she said. “It made me feel like I can inspire people to play softball because everybody thinks that the boys sports are just everything, but girls sports matter, too. And I hope people can see that.”
The Lady Dawgs fell into the loser’s bracket with a 12-1 loss to Weaver. They were eliminated by Ohatchee 16-1.
But they had their historic victory and no one will ever be able to take that away. [*** read more]
