How Gadsden area teams performed at the AHSAA state softball tournament on Friday

Ehsan Kassim, The Gadsden Times
·4 min read

ALBERTVILLE – The first day of the AHSAA Class 2A  and 1A state softball championships began Friday morning at Choccolocco Park in Oxford. Two Gadsden area teams, Spring Garden (2A) and Cedar Bluff (1A), made the eight-team tournaments.

Here's how they fared in their first day of the double-elimination tournament.

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Spring Garden two-and-out

The Panthers fell 8-1 in the opener against Mars Hill and were knocked out falling a 6-4 loss to Thorsby 5-4 in eight innings.

Mars Hill scored three times in the fifth and seventh innings to pull away with the win.

"We just never could stay on top and keep the ball rolling in our favor," Spring Garden coach Ann Welsh said "It's just a lot of pressure ... you're dealing with the heat and the added pressure being in the loser's bracket."

Madison Brown doubled in the only run for Spring Garden. Avery Steward reached base four times, including a double and two walks.

Spring Garden’s Kayley Kirk (3) hits the ball during the AHSAA softball state championship series at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala., on Friday, May 20, 2022.
Spring Garden’s Kayley Kirk (3) hits the ball during the AHSAA softball state championship series at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala., on Friday, May 20, 2022.

Olivia Stegall doubled, tripled and drove in three runs for Mars Hill. Grace Stanfield added a double and four RBIs.

In the second game, Spring Garden fell behind early with Thorsby scoring in the first inning. The Panthers countered with a three-run first inning, highlighted by a two-RBI triple by Bri Boles.

The Rebels re-took the lead with two runs in the fourth inning. The Panther tied it again in the sixth. A couple of errors by Spring Garden helped Thorsby reclaim the lead for good with two runs in the top of the eighth.

"I felt like this weekend we didn't carry over what we did last weekend," Ann Welsh said. "We (weren't) continuously scoring and moving over a lot of runners on base today."

The Panthers finished their season with a 25-13-1 record. They won the Area 12 and the East-Central Regional last weekend in Albertville.

"(This was) probably the most fun season I've had," Ann Welsh said "Probably because my daughter's on (the team), but they're just good group of girls and we've coached him since they are about five years old."

Cedar Bluff wins first state tourney game

The Tigers were eliminated following back-to-back losses, but the came away with their first win at the state championship tournament in a 5-4 comeback victory over Waterloo.

The win was the 28th of the season, also a new school-record.

Trailing 3-1 entering the bottom of the sixth, the Tigers scored four runs in the inning to take a lead.

Payne drove in two runs, while Baty had two triples and a run scored. Za'niya Kyle scored a pair of runs.

"We said going into this we wanted to be better than we were in the past," Cedar Bluff coach Garrett Crane said. "And we did. I think that set up the opportunity again the next year and so forth."

The Tigers closed their day out with a 10-8 loss to Woodland in the Class 1A tournament in an elimination game.

Mattie Payne drove in three runs in the victory, while Ciana Smith added two RBIs and Natalie Baty added a double and an RBI. Haley Allen and Emma Haney each scored two runs.

The Tigers led 8-6 entering the bottom of the sixth, but a pair of errors helped the Bobcats recapture the lead. There were four ties and five lead changes.

"I thought we hit ball pretty well though," Crane said. "I think the difference was in the field. We had more balls in play and from that we had a few errors and that made the difference there."

Cedar Bluff’s Haley Allen (11) celebrates after scoring a run during the AHSAA softball state championship series at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala., on Friday, May 20, 2022.
Cedar Bluff’s Haley Allen (11) celebrates after scoring a run during the AHSAA softball state championship series at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala., on Friday, May 20, 2022.

Cedar Bluff opened the day with a 5-4 come from behind victory over Waterloo.

It was shutout 3-0 in the winner's bracket, in its second game, against Holy Spirit Catholic. Ciana Smith had the lone hit.

The game was scoreless until the sixth inning. Jordyn Walker did not allow an earned on four hits in six innings with eight strikeouts and zero walks.

Contact Ehsan Kassim at 256-300-5313 or ekassim@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: AHSAA state softball tournament: How Gadsden area teams performed