Sophomore sensations Daigle Wilson and Justine Henderson recorded career milestones during the Gulf Coast Classic Tournament in Gulf Shores two weekends ago.

Both athletes are competing in their third varsity seasons and are already two-time Class 2A state champions. In tournament play, Wilson swiped her 100th career stolen base and Henderson racked up her 200th career strikeout as a member of the Makos.

Orange Beach rolled through pool play with a 4-0 record and 38-3 run differential for the third seed in the championship bracket. Those efforts carried into last weekend’s tournament in Montgomery where the Makos claimed the Alex Wilcox Memorial with a 5-0 run through the Gold Bracket.

The Wilson-Henderson duo was also a catalyst in the championship game against Satsuma where Orange Beach got out to an early 5-0 lead with a sequence that was started by a Wilson bunt single and punctuated by a two-run home run from Henderson.

Wilson, of course, was no stranger to delivering moments in big games where she recorded the walk-off base hit that helped secure the Makos’ second straight state title last spring. Both Henderson and Wilson were among six Orange Beach players named to all-state teams by the Alabama Sports Writers Association (ASWA).

Robertson gets in done in the circle

Another one of the Makos’ sophomore standouts in Kaitlynn Robertson, who was named to the all-state tournament team last spring, held things down for Orange Beach in the pitcher’s circle at the Alex Wilcox Tournament.

Over five games, Robertson logged 257 pitches in 23 innings and recorded a 73% strike percentage with 12 strikeouts compared to no walks in the five tournament games. For her efforts, Extra Innings Softball selected her as runner-up in its National Player of the Week race.

Second-ranked Makos set to host area rival Tuesday

The Makos were ranked No. 2 with an overall record of 22-5-1 in the March 30 edition of the ASWA rankings. Orange Beach had also started play within Class 4A Area 1 with a 2-0 mark following wins over UMS-Wright (20-0) and No. 9 Mobile Christian (1-0).

Next week’s play is set to start with St. Michael Catholic visiting the Makos for an April 4 contest before Orange Beach is scheduled to host a pair of teams from Kentucky in McCracken on April 5 and Grayson County on April 7.