Lawrence County a game away from softball state finals

May 20—OXFORD — Lawrence County will play Wednesday for a spot in the Class 5A state softball championship.

The Red Devils won their first two games of the state tournament over Beauregard 3-1 and Moody 4-3, but lost their third to Houston Academy 3-1. The loss drops them to the loser's bracket, however, they would need to win just one game to advance to the state finals.

"We're going to get some rest so we can come back to the ballpark with the same energy that we came into today with," Lawrence County head coach Josh Graham said. "We want to take care of game one and then whatever happens after that, happens"

Other local softball teams in action Tuesday saw Hartselle and West Limestone both finish a game short of the Class 6A and 4A finals, respectively, while Athens Bible was eliminated in Class 1A with two straight losses

—

Class 6A

—

Saraland 9, Hartselle 2: It was a rough game for the Tigers as they finished in third place at the Class 6A state tournament.

The game was tied 2-2 going into the fifth inning when Saraland scored two runs to take a 4-2 lead and then added five in the sixth to seal the win.

"They (Saraland) were hitting the ball so well. They're bats were on fire and they were hitting it in every gap," Hartselle head coach Anna Hanners said. "Then when we were at the plate, we got some hard hits but they were just going straight to them."

"It just wasn't our day," Hanners added.

Jesi Chittam led the Tigers with three hits, while RC Wolf added two hits, including a home run, and an RBI.

Hartselle finishes the season 44-9-1 and says goodbye to three seniors (Wolf, Katie Norgard, Bailey Lawrence) that Hanners said has shaped the future of the program.

"They were sophomores when I first got the job and they've been a huge part of us making it to the state tournament the last three years," Hanners said. "I'm sad to see them go, but the future of the program is so bright because of the legacy they're leaving behind."

—

Hartselle 12, Spain Park 3: Amelia Fox hit two doubles, a triple and drove in four runs as Hartselle avenged a loss from the opening game of the state tournament.

RC Wolf added three hits and two RBIs. KJ Prater and Katie Norgard both finished with two hits and an RBI.

—

Class 5A

—

Houston Academy 3, Lawrence County 1: The loss to send the Red Devils' to the lower bracket wasn't without controversy.

During the game it was deemed Houston Academy pitcher Emily Adams was using an illegal sticky substance. However, after the substance was confiscated, Adams was allowed to remain in the game. She finished with just two hits allowed and 11 strikeouts

"I don't think they understood the product she was using, they were trying to google it," Graham said. "But they made ruling and that's what we're going to stick behind. Doesn't really matter if I agree with it or not."

Houston Academy jumped on the Red Devils early, scoring a run in the first inning and two more in the second.

"We gave them some freebies. We had a walk, a hit batter and a couple errors," Graham said. "We didn't play a clean game and it bit us in the butt."

—

Lawrence County 4, Moody 3: Lawrence County built a 4-0 lead and then held off a late rally for the win.

Raegan Smith led the way with two hits and an RBI. Alivia Terry added two hits and McKinley McCaghren got the win, allowing eight hits and three runs with nine strikeouts.

—

Lawrence County 3, Beauregard 1: Lawrence County built a 3-0 lead in the first inning and held on to seal a win in game one of the Class 5A state tournament,

Bella Cross led the Red Devils with two hits and two RBIs while also picking up the win, allowing four hits and a run with four strikeouts.

Ava Templeton added two hits and LA Norwood had a hit and an RBI.

—

Class 4A

—

Plainview 2, West Limestone 1: West Limestone's run to the state finals fell a game short Tuesday as the Wildcats suffered a walk-off loss to end their season.

Plainview took a 1-0 lead in the first inning and held that lead until the top of the seventh inning when Ella Yarbrough hit an RBI-single to tie the game.

Plainview answered in the bottom of the seventh, however, beating out a fielder's choice with the bases loaded and two outs for the game-winning run.

Yarbrough led West Limestone at the plate, finishing with three hits and an RBI. Katie Lyn Kyle pitched six innings for the Wildcats, allowing five hits and two runs with six strikeouts. She also had a hit.

—

West Limestone 2, American-Christian Academy 1: Ali Blair hit a walk-off single to give West Limestone a thrilling win to open day two of the tournament.

Ella Yarbrough led the Wildcats with two hits and an RBI, while Jaidin Hargrove added two hits. Katie Lyn Kyle got the win in the circle, allowing five hits and a run with strikeouts. She also had two hits.

—

Class 1A

—

Skyline 5, Athens Bible 4: Skyline scored a go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning to steal a win and send the Trojans home on Tuesday.

Athens Bible led 4-2 when the Vikings tied the game 4-4 in the fifth inning.

Hannah Robinson led the Trojans with two hits and two RBIs.

Piper Hall added a hit and two RBIs. Hadley Robinson and Harper Mims each had two hits.

—

Maplesville 11, Athens Bible 1: Athens Bible struggled in the first game of the Class 1A state tournament.

Hadley Robinson led the Trojans with two hits. Kate Gwin added a hit and an RBI.

— [email protected] or 256-340-2395. Twitter @CalebSuggs2