AISA STATE SOFTBALL: Southern Academy ends Macon East run; Bessemer Academy, Abbeville Christian win titles
Southern Academy celebrates the AISA Class AA state softball title at Lagoon Park on Saturday. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
Macon East Academy coach Glynn Lott had a simple message for his team just before the first pitch in the Alabama Independent School Association state softball tournament on Friday.
“I told them if anybody beats us in this tournament, it’ll be us,” Lott said. “And I think we beat ourselves today, twice, by not having key hits. We had our chances today and just didn’t take advantage of them.”
Southern rallied in its last at-bat in both games to defeat the Knights 6-5 and 10-4 to win the Class AA title. Macon East (46-18), despite the losses, continued a remarkable streak by reaching the state tournament finals for the ninth consecutive time.
“(The players) don’t realize it, but one day it will still be special to finish second, as many years as we’ve been there and done it,” Lott said. “We challenge them every year here, we tell the next class to get back to this spot. We tell them all year long, as long as the state championship has to go through us, we feel like we have a chance to win it.”
And Macon East was clearly the favorite in AA because of that streak. After beating Lowndes 10-5 and Edgewood 9-7, the Knights advanced to the finals of the winner’s bracket against Southern. The Cougars had beaten Lakeside 6-2 and Patrician 13-1.
Alyssa Clark hit a home run in the top of the seventh to give Macon East a 5-4 lead, but the Cougars rallied with two runs in the bottom of the seventh to win the game.
“We had the bases loaded three or four times and didn’t score a run,” Lott said. “We lost then. But hats off to them. They did their job. They hit the ball when they had to, put the ball in play and we didn’t make the plays.”
Hannah Parker’s two-run single in the second highlighted Macon East’s 7-3 win over Chambers in an elimination-round game, setting up a rematch with Southern in the finals. Taylor McKinney led off the game with a home run, Kylee Smith scored in the third on a Kadence Ward single and McKinney scored in the fourth on a Breann Morrison single, but the Knights’ championship hopes faded in a surreal sixth-inning collapse.
Riley Newton hit a one-out double to left, Trinity Wilkerson and Leah Beth Stewart walked to load the bases and the Cougars scored a run on Mary Katherine Jones’ high bouncer to Ward near second base. Ward tried to tag Stewart as she ran by but missed and everyone was safe. After Abbi Price struck out for the second out, Mallory Sluder, who homered in the fourth to tie the game, was intentionally walked to load the bases.
Audrey Marsh hit a grounder to third baseman Devyn Debardelaben, who bobbled the ball, then couldn’t get to third in time for the force. Anna Curtis Sealy followed with a spinning shot that fell between pitcher and catcher, then eluded pitcher Kylee Smith as it rolled back toward home plate. Augusta Arnold followed with a two-run double to center and suddenly it was 10-3.
The Knights came back with a one-out home run by Smith and singles by Georgia Blaze and Ward, but Clark popped up to third base and Parker popped up to the catcher to end the game.
“We were up and down,” Lott said. “We were that way all year. We played some really good teams (in a tournament) in Tennessee and played well up there, but we didn’t show up every day.”
Making the all-tournament team were Sluder, Wilkerson, Arnold and Stewart of Southern, McKinney, Morrison and Smith of Macon East and Chloe Mitcham and Megan Ware of Chambers.
CLASS AAA
Bessemer Academy 7, Clarke Prep 2
Bri Short homered twice to lead Bessemer to the school’s first-ever softball title with a 7-2 victory over Clarke Prep in the Class AAA tournament at Lagoon Park Softball Complex on Saturday.
The Rebels (30-7) defeated Springwood 12-0 in the tournament opener, shut out highly regarded Pike Liberal Arts 2-0 and then defeated Clarke Prep 2-1 to reach the finals.
“We started three years ago,” said Bessemer coach Michelle Hyde, who joined forces with assistant coach Taylor Powell to lead the Rebels to a third-place finish in the state tournament in their first year as coaches in 2019. “I was there to teach reading and she was there as a P.E. teacher and we needed a coach. But I had very high expectations. We had high expectations last year.
“Talking with the girls, they felt like it was taken away from them last year (by COVID-19). They came this year with a purpose and a plan. They came into this (tournament) wanting it. We talked about my six seniors leaving a legacy.”
Clarke Prep took a 1-0 lead when Hannah Averitt singled and later scored in the first inning, but the Rebels rallied in the third as Erin Babineaux singled in a pair of runs and Short followed with a three-run blast to put Bessemer on top 5-1.
“Bri had a defensively sound tournament, anyway,” Hyde said. “And we knew what she could do (at the plate). We kept telling her to be patient, it will come. And she did. She showed you what she’s capable of doing. When hers go out, you know they’re out.”
Her next trip to the plate left no doubt as well. Babineaux singled and Short blasted another shot over the left field fence for a 7-1 lead.
Making the all-tournament team were Jordin Barnett, Sydney Colburn, Short and Babineaux of Bessemer; Avery Marrell, Kerri Steadham and Calli Steadham of Clark Prep; Olivia Shadburn and Jessie Steadman of Monroe; and Ariana Pinder of Glenwood.
CLASS A
Abbeville Christian 9, Crenshaw Christian 4
Abbeville Christian, a perennial favorite, rolled through the Class A state tournament with a vengeance, defeating North River 14-2, Coosa Valley 2-1, Crenshaw 11-0 and Crenshaw again, 9-4, at Lagoon Park on Saturday.
Abbeville Christian jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, as expected, with RBI singles by Caroline Armstrong and Hannah Kennedy in the first inning, but the Cougars grabbed the lead in the third with four runs. Leadoff walks to Brianna Toney and Reagan Lawrence were followed with an RBI single by Tanna Singleton and a sacrifice fly by Abby Henderson that tied the game. Molly Martin followed with an RBI double and Aly Billings reached on an error that scored another run for a 4-2 lead.
The Generals answered quickly with a two-run double by Emmaline Hartzog and a Hope Kennedy sacrifice fly for a 6-4 lead. Abbeville added three more runs in the sixth as Kennedy singled in Hartzog and Anna Grace Blalock followed two batters later with a two-run triple to right center.
Making the all-tournament team were Gabbie Causey, Hartzog, Armstrong and Kennedy of Abbeville Christian; Henderson, Lawrence and Martin of Crenshaw Christian; Jenna Castleburg and Carmen Lovett of Coosa Valley; and Lakelyn Dees of Jackson.
2021 AISA STATE SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT
CLASS AAA
FRIDAY
Glenwood School 13, Monroe Academy 3
Clarke Prep School 12, Lee-Scott Academy 2
Bessemer Academy 12, Springwood School 0
Pike Liberal Arts School 6, Fort Dale Academy 5
Monroe Academy 8, Lee-Scott Academy 0
Fort Dale Academy 12, Springwood School 0
Clarke Prep School 10, Glenwood School 0
Bessemer Academy 2, Pike Liberal Arts School 0
Monroe Academy 8, Pike Liberal Arts School 6
Glenwood School 10, Fort Dale Academy 2
SATURDAY
Bessemer Academy 2, Clarke Prep School 1
Monroe Academy 6, Glenwood School 5
Clarke Prep School 13, Monroe Academy 1
Bessemer Academy 7, Clarke Prep School 2
CLASS AA
FRIDAY
Macon East Academy 10, Lowndes Academy 5
Edgewood Academy 17, South Choctaw Academy 6
Southern Academy 6, Lakeside School 2
Patrician Academy 4, Chambers Academy 3
Lowndes Academy 8, South Choctaw Academy 4
Chambers Academy 6, Lakeside School 4
Macon East Academy 9, Edgewood Academy 7
Southern Academy 13, Patrician Academy 1
Lowndes Academy 14, Patrician Academy 12
Chambers Academy 12, Edgewood Academy 6
SATURDAY
Southern Academy 6, Macon East Academy 5
Chambers Academy 8, Lowndes Academy 7
Macon East Academy 7, Chambers Academy 3
Southern Academy 10, Macon East Academy 4
CLASS A
FRIDAY
Jackson Academy 12, Heritage Christian Academy 0
Crenshaw Christian Academy 16, Pickens Academy 3
Coosa Valley Academy 10, Meadowview Christian School 0
Abbeville Christian Academy 14, North River Christian 2
Pickens Academy 17, Heritage Christian Academy 7
North River Christian 17, Meadowview Christian School 7
Crenshaw Christian Academy 4, Jackson Academy 1
Abbeville Christian Academy 2, Coosa Valley Academy 1
Coosa Valley Academy 10, Pickens Academy 2
Jackson Academy 12, North River Christian 2
SATURDAY
Abbeville Christian Academy 11, Crenshaw Christian 0
Coosa Valley Academy 9, Jackson Academy 0
Crenshaw Christian 5, Coosa Valley Academy 1
Abbeville Christian Academy 9, Crenshaw Christian 4