Orange Beach, Fairhope clinch spots in AHSAA softball state finals

Spanish Fort takes third place in 6A, Daphne finds end of road in 7A consolation quarterfinals

BY COLE McNANNA
Sports Editor
cole@gulfcoastmedia.com
Posted 5/20/23

Entering the final day of the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s softball season, Orange Beach and Fairhope will be playing for state championships Saturday, May 20, in Oxford. Both the …

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Orange Beach, Fairhope clinch spots in AHSAA softball state finals

Spanish Fort takes third place in 6A, Daphne finds end of road in 7A consolation quarterfinals

Posted

Entering the final day of the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s softball season, Orange Beach and Fairhope will be playing for state championships Saturday, May 20, in Oxford. Both the Makos and Pirates reached the finals undefeated in the double-elimination bracket.

Orange Beach cruised through the first two rounds of the Class 4A state tournament with run-rule wins over White Plains (18-0) and Prattville Christian (16-1) before taking down defending Class 3A champion Houston Academy 10-8 to earn a spot in the state finals unscathed. Curry and Brooks will open play in the consolation semifinals with Houston Academy waiting in the consolation finals.

Fairhope earned its way to the Class 7A title game undefeated by taking down defending champion Thompson 2-1 to start before wins of 4-1 over Sparkman and 1-0 over Hewitt-Trussville. Saturday will start with Sparkman and Thompson in the consolation semifinals with Hewitt-Trussville waiting in the consolation finals.

Stay tuned to @GCMSportsAL for immediate updates from the softball state championships.

Baldwin County’s two other state representatives found the end of the road in their respective brackets Friday. The Spanish Fort Toros finished third overall in Class 6A and the Daphne Trojans fell in the Class 7A consolation quarterfinals.

Spanish Fort opened with wins over Pell City (9-4) and Athens (4-3) Thursday before rain affected the schedule. Friday morning, the Toros fell to Wetumpka 9-8 after erasing a nine-run deficit in the championship round then dropped a 10-8 contest to Athens in the consolation finals.

Spanish Fort rallied from a four-run deficit to take a lead in the sixth inning facing elimination but the Golden Eagles from Athens took the lead back in the bottom half to advance to the title contest. The Wetumpka Indians went on to beat Athens 2-1 in eight innings to win the 6A state championship.

Although Daphne opened the state tournament with a 3-2 loss, Hewitt-Trussville needed a walk-off hit to earn the win after the Trojans scored two runs in the third inning.

Daphne went on to run-rule Huntsville by an 11-1 score behind two triples and 3 RBI from Victoria Moten and a home run from Abigail Johnson in the consolation quarterfinals. Sparkman scored its lone run in the first inning and kept the Trojans off the board the rest of the game to force elimination.

Below are highlights via AHSAA.

CLASS 7A FIRST ROUND 

Fairhope 2, Thompson 1: Emma Stewart drove in both runs with a two-RBI single to center field. Fairhope pitcher Ryley Harrison did not allow a hit the rest of the way to secure the win for the Lady Pirates. She struck out eight in seven innings of work. Stewart and Harrison each went 2-for-3 at the plate.

Hewitt-Trussville 3, Daphne 2: Hannah Newport led Daphne with two hits and Victoria Moten lifted a two-run home run.

WINNER’S BRACKET

Fairhope 4, Sparkman 1: Fairhope pitcher Ryley Harrison struck out 16 in the complete-game victory. The senior allowed one run on four hits with only one walk. The Pirates plated a single run in the top of the first inning. A two-run fifth and another single run in the sixth made the score 4-0 before the Senators got their lone run. Mallory Earp was 2-for-4 at the plate for the winners.

Fairhope 1, Hewitt-Trussville 0: Edy Gavin doubled and eventually scored on a wild pitch in the first inning before Ryley Harrison came up with another 16-strikeout performance while allowing three hits and no walks to advance to the finals.

ELIMINATION BRACKET

Daphne 11, Huntsville 1 (6 innings): The Trojans scored 10 runs over a two-inning span to break open a close game and pick up a mercy-rule win. Daphne entered the top of the fifth inning tied 1-1 but took the lead for good with three runs. A seven-run sixth inning then evoked the mercy rule.

The Trojans finished with 12 hits where five players with two hits each. Abby Johnson was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Victoria Moten drove in three runs with a 2-for-4 showing, including a triple. Moten also recorded the pitching victory, striking out 12 in six innings without yielding an earned run.

Sparkman 1, Daphne 0: A single run in the bottom of the first inning would be all the offense Sparkman would need to advance as pitchers Eden Parker and Fiona East combined for the shutout. Daphne pitcher Victoria Moten held the Senators without an earned run. She allowed two hits in six innings while striking out 11.

CLASS 6A CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND

Wetumpka 9, Spanish Fort 8: After Spanish Fort (31-14-1) plated three runs to tie the game in the top of the seventh inning, Wetumpka got an RBI single in the bottom of the frame to get the walk-off win.

Spanish Fort’s Madison Griffith and Kennedy Sevcik were 3-for-4 for the Toros where Mackenzie Boulloun provided a three-run home run.

ELIMINATION BRACKET

Athens 10, Spanish Fort 8: In a game that featured both teams combining for 18 runs and 23 hits, Athens took the lead for good with three runs in the top of the sixth inning. Athens took a 7-3 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning when Spanish Fort rallied to take its first lead.

Raeleigh Hocker and Ann Thomas Luke joined Sevcik in delivering two-hit games.

CLASS 4A FIRST ROUND

Orange Beach 18, White Plains 0 (3 innings): The Makos needed only three innings to score 18 runs off 13 hits in the mercy-rule win. Eight different players recorded a hit and five players had two hits in the game. KG Favors was 2-for-3 with a trio of RBIs. Teagan Revette, Kaitlynn Robertson, LC Robbins, and Falyn Beebe also added two hits each. Robertson also picked up the pitching victory, scattering four hits over three shutout innings with four strikeouts.

WINNER’S BRACKET

Orange Beach 16, Prattville Christian 1 (4 innings): Red-hot Orange Beach (44-10-1) stayed in the winner’s bracket with a four-inning mercy-rule win. The Makos totaled 16 runs off 14 hits with eight players in the lineup getting at least one hit in the game. LC Robbins and Falyn Beebe both went 3-for-3 and drove in a run. Teagan Revette was 2-for-2 with a home run and two RBIs. Pitchers KG Favors and Kaitlynn Robertson combined to hold PCA to one run off three hits with eight total strikeouts.

Orange Beach 10, Houston Academy 8: The Makos scored two runs in the top of the seventh and sealed the deal in the bottom half to advance to the finals. Teagan Revette was 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs and Kaitlynn Robertson, KG Favors and Justine Henderson all recorded two hits.