Teams ready for state tournaments

By By Todd Thompson, Hartselle Enquirer
Several youth baseball and softball teams are making travel arrangements this week after winning district tournaments.
Hartselle’s run of state tournament appearances in Dixie baseball and softball has become a tradition and this year’s teams have done nothing to disappoint the city.
All three Hartselle Dixie softball teams - the Darlings, the Ponytails and the Angels - will be playing in Scottsboro later this month after cruising to district championships.
The success shows just how strong Hartselle’s softball tradition runs, from the high school program on down through the youth leagues.
The Hartselle Ponytails defeated Underwood 9-8 in seven innings in the district final, finishing the district tournament with a 3-1 record.
Hartselle beat Underwood in the district opener 3-1 and added a 19-0 win over Colbert Heights. After suffering a 4-2 loss to Underwood, the Hartselle team came back to win the championship.
Hartselle Darlings went undefeated in their district tournament after outscoring opponents 39-12 in three games.
The Angels powered past Rogersville 14-1 to claim its district championship to earn a spot in the state tournament.
The titles shouldn’t come as a surprise. Hartselle’s Darlings and Ponytails both reached the World Series last year with the Darlings bringing a national title back to Hartselle.
The goal for the three teams - Darlings, Ponytails and Angels - is to be playing softball right up until the start of the school year in August.
Hartselle’s 13-year-old All-Stars, playing in the district tournament at the Sportsplex in Muscle Shoals, wrapped up its trip to the state tournament Friday night with an easy 15-0 victory ovrer Muscle Shoals in the championship game.
Hartselle had little trouble in the tournament, scoring 52 runs in three victories. The Tigers allowed just four runs in the tournament, all coming in a 23-4 rout of Decatur.
Several other Hartselle teams could add their names to the list of teams earning state tournament appearances as a couple of district tournaments wrap up this week.
Sports editor Todd Thompson can be reached at 773-6566 or at todd.thompson@hartselleenquirer.com