Hartselle wins North Regional
By Zane Turner
For the Enquirer
Hartselle earned the top spot coming out of the North Regional in Florence on Thursday.
Led by freshman and eighth grader pitchers, the Tiger defense shut down Athens 2-0 in the Class 6A winner’s bracket final, earning consecutive state tournament berths and North Regional wins.
After the loss, Athens secured their fifth state tournament appearance in a row by knocking off Buckhorn 4-3 in the elimination bracket final.
Hartselle 2, Athens 0: It’s the bottom of the sixth inning and Athens has threatened a comeback on Hartselle’s 2-0 lead in the Class 6A winner’s bracket final.
Hartselle’s Aubrey Mize slides into third in the winner’s bracket final against Athens on Thursday. Photo by Zane Turner.
No outs, with Athens runners on first and second, Hartselle eighth grader Abigail Kubica took over on the stripe with a chance to save the game.
Despite the weight of a state tournament berth sitting on these next few pitches, the young Hartselle pitcher found she was more excited than nervous.
“ I was kind of calm, but kind of nervous at the same time,” Kubica said. “I guess more excited than nervous.”
The first batter she faces, sac-bunts to put the tying run on second. With two Athens runners now in scoring position, Kubica struck out the next hitter and then caught her own coaxed pop-up to get out of the jam.
“If your defense has your back, it feels like you can pitch anywhere and it’s almost a guaranteed out,” she said.
Kubica and Hartselle’s other young ace, freshman Kaelin Perdue, combined to throw seven innings of five-hit ball, handing last year’s state champions their first shutout loss in over two years.
“ I think they did great,” Hartselle head coach Anna Hall said. “They got ahead in the count and that just made everything else more successful. I think they had a really strong day.”
The Tigers scored their first run in the top of the first, then put another on Athens in the top of the sixth.
The win serves as some revenge for last year’s state tournament, when Athens beat Hartselle three times to win the Class 6A state title.
Hall said the Tigers remembered those losses and used it as motivation in this game, shutting out Athens for the first time since March 16, 2023, when Hartselle beat Athens 7-0.
“With how many times we’ve played them, and then the state tournament last year. This has become a rivalry, for sure.” Hall said.
But this cross-river rivalry hasn’t been laid to rest yet. The Golden Eagles won the elimination bracket and secured their own spot at state.
Next Thursday at the state tournament in Oxford, Hartselle will face Gardendale, while Athens will see Pell City.
Hartselle’s Katie Norgard led the way with an RBI and two hits. KJ Prater had an RBI for Hartselle. Athens’ Caitlyn Tedford had a pair of base hits. Hartselle’s Brityan Godfrey had two hits.
Purdue threw five innings for the Tigers, allowing four hits and striking out three. Athens’ Jaicey Harty pitched a complete game, allowing five hits and two runs with eight strikeouts.
