Lady Cubs ousted in semis
- Updated: March 28, 2018
Here is a roundup of Wednesday’s softball and baseball games involving teams from Calhoun County
WEDNESDAY SOFTBALL
Alexandria 12, Ravenwood 0
Alexandria 5, Enterprise 4
Alexandria 6, Sparkman 3
Alexandria 3, Brentwood 0
Dale County 7, Ohatchee 6
Hewitt-Trussville 5, Alexandria 0
Pleasant Valley 13, Addison 0
Pleasant Valley 10, Dale County 1
Thompson 6, Pleasant Valley 0
By East Alabama Sports Today
GULF SHORES – Alexandria reached the semifinals of the Gulf Coast Classic III softball tournament Wednesday, but in the end was eliminated by the sharpest pitching staff in the tournament.
The newiy installed top-ranked 5A Lady Cubs were bounced by Hewitt-Trussville 5-0. The Lady Huskies had not given up a run Wednesday until losing in the championship game to Thompson 4-3.
To reach the semifinals, the Lady Cubs eliminated Ravenwood (Tenn.) 12-0, Enterprise 5-4, Sparkman 6-3 and Brentwood (Tenn.) 3-0. They were the only non-Class 7A team in the semifinals.
“It’s been 14 years since we’ve done that,” Lady Cubs coach Brian Hess said. “In 2004 we went to the semifinals and got on a tear there; we were 3-2 and went on a run. That was like the third year of our softball program, that’s what made that so special. And then in 2011 we won it.
“But this is the first time we went undefeated through pool play and made a run to the semifinals, so they’ve got that to hang their hat on. Everything I asked them to do they’ve done it. They had a great week. I’m proud of their efforts.”
In the semifinal game, Hewitt-Trussville struck for three runs in the first inning and as sharp as its pitchers have been on the day that’s all it took. Molly Cobb held the Lady Cubs to three hits — two by Leighton Sparks and one by Emma Rolfe.
Hewitt had outscored its opponents 55-0 in the five games leading up to the finals and its pitchers had allowed only eight hits.
Alexandria got strong pitching from Maggie Phillips and Emmah Rolfe throughout the tournament as well. In Wednesday’s bracket play, Phillips gave up 11 hits and three earned runs in 12 innings. Rolfe gave up four earned runs in 14 innings
Laney Dreyer was the Lady Cubs’ hitting star. She went 5-for-12 with seven RBIs in bracket play; she drove in the go-ahead run against Enterprise with a sixth-inning sacrifice fly and homered against Sparkman. Rolfe also had five hits in the round.
“This team, to be able to do what they’ve done, there’s a lot of young talent there that’s growing up right before my eyes,” Hess said. “It’s just pleasing to see the difference in their mentality over the last couple of years.”
Pleasant Valley went 2-1 on the day. The Lady Raiders crushed Addison (13-0) and Dale County (10-1) before being eliminated by Thompson (6-0).
Three PV pitchers combined on a no-hitter in the Addison game; they came within a two-out fourth-inning walk of a perfect game. Every PV batter had at least one hit. Lindsey Pritchett, Savannah Williams, Mikayla Kendrick, Bailey Harris and Krystal Brown had two hits apiece. Ava Boozer, Savannah Williams, Kendrick and Cortney Williams each drove in two runs.
The Lady Raiders broke open the Dale County game with a seven-run fifth inning. Boozer, Harris and Mac Parris all had two-run singles in the big inning. Brown had three hits in the game and Parris drove in three runs.
The Lady Raiders went held to only one hit by Thompson – a two-out single in the third by Savannah Williams.
Dale County put out Ohatchee 7-6 before being ousted by PV.
WEDNESDAY BASEBALL
Hayden 6, White Plains 5
Ohatchee 21, Donoho 11
Piedmont 15, Childersburg 2
St. Paul 3, Alexandria 1
Wellborn 14, Childersburg 13
White Plains 11, Richmond Burton (Ill.) 4
Piedmont 15, Childersburg 2: Cole Chasteen drove in five runs, Sean Smith drove in four and Logan Pruitt scattered four hits in six innings for the Bulldogs.
Chasteen was 2-for-3 and Smith 3-for-4. Brant Deerman drove in two runs and pitched a perfect seventh to close the game. Chasteen had a two-run single in the third, a two-run double in the fourth and an RBI single in the fifth. Smith had a two-run double in the third, an RBI single in the fourth and a bases-loaded walk in the seventh.
Ohatchee 21, Donoho 11: The Indians answered Donoho’s eight-run third inning with 10 runs in the bottom of the frame.
Jase Alderman, Ty Allen, Hall Billings (two-run), Edwin Connell (two-run) all had run-scoring doubles in the inning for Donoho. The Falcons hit six doubles in the inning. The Indians sent 15 batters to the plate in the bottom of the inning to retain the lead.
Billings went 4-for-5 with two RBIs for Donoho. Seth Ford and Reid Williamon had two hits.
Ben Glass and Larry Noah both drove in four runs for Ohatchee. Noah, Devin Howell and Cade Williamson had two hits. Jesse Sellers, Howell and Williamson had two RBIs.
The game had 32 runs, 22 hits, nine errors, 18 walks and 308 pitches.
Wellborn 14, Childersburg 13: Jamyron Curry’s one-out single in the bottom of the seventh scored Jackson Connell with the winning run after Childersburg tied the game with seven runs in the top of the inning. The winning rally started with back-to-back singles by Connell and Devin Brown. Connell was 5-for-5, Brown was 4-for-5 with three RBIs, and Curry was 3-for-5 with two RBIs. Curry hit a leadoff homer in the Panthers’ eight-run fifth inning.
Hayden 6, White Plains 5: Both teams scored four runs in the first inning, but Hayden took the lead with two in the third and held it. Jake Spivey had two hits for White Plains, while Braxton Dopson and Matthew Clay each had two RBIs.
White Plains 11, Richmond Burton (Ill.) 4: The Wildcats scored five in the first inning and this time didn’t let it go. Braxton Dopson went 3-for-4 with four RBIs, including a two-run double in the first. Andrew Cronan and Jake Spivey also went 3-for-4 in the game. Winning pitcher Andrew Norred gave up three hits and struck out five in a complete game and two hits and two RBIs at the plate.
St. Paul’s 3, Alexandria 1: The Valley Cubs completed their four-game swing through Mobile with another tough outing against the No. 2 5A team in the state. Dylan DiGangi threw four-hit ball over the first 5 1/3 innings. Jared Ponder had two hits and drove in the Cubs’ only run. Mitch Welch had a single and Layton Ellison had a double.
The Cubs lost to No. 4 6A Saraland 6-5 on Tuesday. Noah Primm had two extra-base hits and two RBIs, Ponder and Nate McCallum both went 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Justin Shaw drove in two runs. Top-ranked 5A Faith Academy swept them in a doubleheader on Monday 10-0 and 8-1.
The Cubs (7-14) return to the field Friday against Lawrence County at Choccolocco Park.
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