Hartselle sweeps Southside to advance to 2nd round

By Staff
Danville also advances in 3 games; Priceville swept
Justin Schuver, Hartselle Enquirer
Down by two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning against Southside-Gadsden in Game 1 of a best-of-three sub-state series, the Lady Tigers needed to find a spark. They found it in the speed of leadoff batter Kristy Pevahouse.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Pevahouse hit a ground ball to Southside shortstop Leshea Stokes, just beating out the relay throw to first base for an infield single that scored two runs. The next batter, Kayla Orr, followed with a three-run home run and Hartselle was on its way to a 6-3 win. The Lady Tigers won Game 2 by a score of 12-1 to complete the sweep at Grady and Margie Long Park Tuesday.
"That was just huge," Hartselle coach Shane Alexander said of Pevahouse's infield single. "(The coaches) keep preaching on how ground balls are going to win games, especially here in May when the dirt is hard and baked. You just hit a ground ball and a lot of times it's going to eat an infielder up."
The sweep advances Hartselle (53-14) to the second sub-state round against Scottsboro on Saturday. The best-of-three series will be held in Scottsboro with the winner advancing to the state tournament in Montgomery.
Hartselle finished third in Class 5A last season and was ranked No. 1 in the final Alabama Sportswriters Association poll of this season. The Lady Tigers won their 53rd game of the season Tuesday, giving the team the record for the highest number of wins of any team in Hartselle's history.
"I think maybe early in Game 1 we were pressing a little, especially when (Southside) got a few runs early," Alexander said. "We got back in front and were able to relax and take that into the second game. You know, it's hard having the pressure of everyone in the stands saying, 'Oh you guys are going to win these games easily,' I mean that kind of pressure is hard on a 16, 17-year-old girl."
Hartselle senior Orr did her part to help relieve some of that pressure. She finished the series 5-for-7 with seven RBIs and two home runs. The Lady Tigers also got strong efforts on the mound from their senior starters – Breanna Segars pitched Game 1 and had seven strikeouts and Mary Curtis pitched Game 2 and allowed just one hit.
In Game 1, Pevahouse's infield single scored Catie Keel and Segars. Orr's home run brought home Pevahouse and Anna Hall. After Southside scored in the top of the fifth, Hartselle added a run of its own in the bottom of the inning when Audrey McClanahan hit a one-out double and later scored on a wild pitch.
The Lady Tigers blew the game open early in Game 2, scoring five runs in the top of the second inning. They added four in the third and three in the fourth.
Pevahouse scored two runs and had two RBIs; Orr scored two runs and had four RBIs, including a two-run home run, and Whitley Collins hit an RBI double.
Sara Lang had an RBI double and Haley Miller scored three runs. Segars scored two runs and Michel Fields and Kayla Byford each scored once.
Danville 11, 3, 8
Carbon Hill 0, 6, 3
The Lady Hawks needed all three games, but advanced on the road and will face Glencoe in the second round Saturday.
Brittany Atkins struck out four and allowed five hits to pick up wins in both Game 1 and Game 3, including a five-inning no-hitter in the first game.
In Game 3, Mallory George hit a double and single and Whitney Haggamaker had two singles and an RBI. Michelle Smith singled and doubled and Kelsey Bell had an RBI and a double.
In Game 1, Kristen Sparkman had four RBIs on a single and double; Bethany Evans hit a single, double and had a stolen base; Kristen Thompson had two singles; and Nicole Linderman, George, Bell, Haggamaker, Brianna Callahan and Kassie Cowart each singled.
In Game 2, Thompson allowed six hits and struck out seven but took the loss. George hit a double and single and Cowart had two singles. Thompson and Smith each singled once.
Central-Florence 3, 11
Priceville 1, 1
The Lady Bulldogs' pitching allowed just two hits in Game 1, but didn't have enough offense to pull off a win. In Game 2, Priceville allowed four runs in the fifth inning to fall behind 5-0 and could not force a comeback.