Lady Tigers shake off loss to win area tournament
Clif KnightHartselle Enquirer
Hartselle’s Lady Tigers rebounded from an earlier defeat by eking out a 3-2 victory over the Athens Lady Golden Eagles to claim championship honors in area tournament competition at the Grady and Margie Long Softball Complex in Hartselle Saturday night. The win extended the Lady Tigers’ season record to 37-17 and earned a first round top seed in district tournament competition in Huntsville on Friday. They will face Johnson in a 9:30 a.m. game. Eight teams will be competing for two berths at the state tournament in Montgomery They are Hartselle, Athens, East Limestone, Johnson, Albertville, Ft. Payne, Scottsboro and Southside.Hartselle trailed 0-1 after the first inning but moved ahead for good by scoring a pair of runs in the second inning and adding another run in the fourth. Athens scored its second run in the sixth. Five Hartselle players had hits. Katie Gentle led the way with a solo home run and a single, Alex Paulsen had a double and single, Olivia Golden doubled and Breanna Riley and Jacquie Shadden each singled. Riley went the distance and was credited with the win. She allowed two runs on five hits while striking out eight and walking three. Athens 9, Hartselle 4The Lady Tigers lost their bid to win the area championship without a loss when they fell to Athens 9-4 in a Saturday afternoon game.The Lady Golden Eagles scored six runs in the seventh inning after leading 3-0 early in the game. Hartselle went ahead on the strength of a four-run sixth inningSeven Lady Tigers combined for eight hits. Golden had a pair of singles, Shelby Hoff and Ashley Bonner each doubled and Paulsen, Gentle, Emily Nix and Chelsea Bennich each singled.Meaghan Gray was the losing pitcher. She allowed seven runs on eight hits while walking one. Riley pitched one-third inning in relief. She gave up two runs on three hits. Hartselle 4, Athens 3Hartselle scored a go-ahead run in the sixth inning and went on to defeat Athens 4-3 in the second round of the area tournament on Friday morning. The Lady Tigers grabbed a one run lead in the first inning and added two more in the fourth. Athens scored two runs in the fourth and tied the score at 3-all in the fifth. Riley and Paulsen each had a home run and a single to pace Hartselle in hitting. Ashley Bonner had a singleRiley was the winning pitcher. She allowed three runs on four hits while striking out nine and walking one.Hartselle 10, Russellville 2Hartselle’s Lady Tigers pounded out 12 hits behind solid pitching and went on to hammer Russellville 10-2 in the opening round of area tournament competition at the Grady and Margie Long Softball Complex in Hartselle Thursday afternoon. Paulsen paced the win with a three-run homer and a pair of singles. Bonner doubled and singled, Shadden had a pair of singles, Bennich had a double and Robinson, Hoff and Gentle each singled. The game was tied at 1-all in the third inning before the Lady Tigers unleashed an unrelenting hitting attack, scoring a single run in the third, three in the fourth, two in the fifth and three more in the sixth.Gray was the winning pitcher. She allowed two runs on four hits while striking out eight and walking six. A highlight of her game was striking out the last two batters she faced in the third inning after Russellville loaded the bases on two hits and an error.
