PREP ROUNDUP: Austin wins 3 straight to advance to North Regional
May 4—With its postseason hanging in the balance after a close loss in the Class 7A, Area 8 tournament on Tuesday, the Austin softball team rebounded to win three straight elimination games on Wednesday to capture the area championship and advance to next week's North Regional in Huntsville.
The Black Bears avenged Tuesday's loss by defeating Bob Jones 10-6 in the championship game. Austin opened the day with a 5-3 win over James Clemens to advance to the finals and forced a decisive elimination game with a 2-1 win over Bob Jones in the first game of the championship series.
—
Austin 10, Bob Jones 6: Patience Joshua went 3-for-4 with a homer run and two RBIs as Austin claimed the area title on Wednesday.
Kyra Taylor homered, singled and drove in three runs for the Black Bears, while Kinsley Higdon added two hits, including a double, and two RBIs. Claire Wright had two hits and one RBI.
Callie Lang pitched five innings for the win, striking out four.
—
Austin 2, Bob Jones 1: Higdon singled home the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning for Austin.
Lang pitched all seven innings to earn the win, allowing one run on four hits with one strikeout. Wright had one hit and one RBI, while Arden Breedlove added a pair of singles.
—
Austin 5, James Clemens 3: Higdon doubled and drove in two runs as Austin opened the day with a win.
Wright had two hits, including a double, and one RBI for the Black Bears, while Taylor and Lyndi Perkins added one hit each.
Lang worked all seven innings in the circle for the win, allowing three runs while striking out two.
—
Class 4A, Area 13
—
Priceville 13, West Morgan 5: Allie Denson went 5-for-5 with three doubles, three RBIs and three runs scored as Priceville won the area tournament championship on Wednesday.
Maddie Black had two hits and four RBIs for the Bulldogs, while Wrozlie Barnett added a home run and two RBIs. Kirsten Segars singled twice and drove in a run and Elizabeth Murphy pitched five innings for the win, striking out one.
Kylei Russell had three hits, including a double, and one RBI for West Morgan. Jonie Weems had two singles and Hannah Johnson had one double.
—
West Morgan 3, Good Hope 2: Chasity Rikard pitched eight innings to propel West Morgan into the area championship game on Wednesday, allowing two earned runs while striking out two.
Russell doubled and drove in two runs for the Rebels, while Rikard added a pair of hits, including a double, and one RBI.
—
West Morgan 12, East Lawrence 3: Weems doubled twice and drove in three runs as West Morgan opened the second day of area tournament play with a must-win victory.
Rikard and Samantha Wallace had two hits and three RBIs each for the Rebels, while Russell added a double and two RBIs. Johnson had three hits and Rikard pitched all seven innings for the win, striking out nine.
Mattie Rae Gillespie had two hits and one RBI for East Lawrence. Lily Claborn and Callie Pittman had two hits each for the Eagles, while Taylor Kelly and Kensley Bowling added one RBI each.
—
Golf
—
Class 6A, Section 4: The Hartselle boys (333) placed third on Tuesday at Terri Pines in Cullman behind Cullman (297) and Athens (332). The top four teams advance to the sub-state next week at Canebrake in Athens.
Alabama signee Tristin Wisener shot 80 to lead Hartselle. Cain Armistead was right behind him with an 82. Riley Partain with 85 and Easton Agee with 86 rounded out the Hartselle scoring.
The Hartselle girls finished third behind Cullman and Buckhorn. Hartselle's Jinger Heath placed second individually with a 75.
—
Class 3A, Section 4: Chloe Ruble shot 76 to lead Lindsay Lane to the championship at Joe Wheeler State Park with a team score of 257. Hatton qualified for the sub-state by finishing second with a 368.
Ruble was followed in the individual scoring by Lindsay Lane teammate Corrine Laferra with an 86. Sidda Poston led Hatton with a 105. Advancing as individual qualifiers were Clements' Karlee Liverett and Leah Childress.
—
Class 5A, Section 4: Both Lawrence County and West Limestone girls advanced to the sub-state round out of the tournament played in Florence. Lawrence County was third behind Mars Hill and West Point. West Limestone was fourth.
Advancing as an individual was Lanie Tomerlin of Ardmore and Hayden Howell of Priceville.
—
Soccer
—
The Clements and East Limestone girls along with the Tanner boys remain alive in state tournament play.
Clements defeated Danville, 4-0, on Tuesday. Clements advances to the Class 1A-3A second round with a match Thursday at Susan Moore in Blountsville at 5:30 p.m.
The Tanner boys defeated Geraldine, 9-0, on Tuesday. Tanner advances to the Class 1A-3A second round with a match Thursday at Susan Moore starting at 7:30 p.m.
The East Limestone girls defeated Arab, 10-0, on Tuesday. East Limestone advances to the Class 5A second round with a Friday match at Guntersville. East Limestone advanced to the state finals last season.
In Class 6A boys, No. 1 ranked Fort Payne beat Hartselle, 2-0. Hartselle set a school record with 21 victories.
