By Staff
The Hartselle Lady Tigers suffered only their sixth loss of the season in a rematch of last year's state championship game, but rebounded to win the Bob Jones varsity tournament and shutout the Lady Panthers of Huntsville High.
Oak Mountain 1, Hartselle 0:
The Oak Mountain Lady Eagles gained a measure of revenge for an early season loss to the Lady Tigers with a shutout win last Tuesday.
Neither team was able to break the other until the Lady Eagles scored an unearned run on two Hartselle errors in the seventh inning. The loss posted Hartselle's record at 20-6.
Jessica Lyle was saddled with the loss in a seven-inning performance. She gave up three hits and two walks while fanning three.
Corum got the big hit of the game with a double, while Ashley Jackson, Anna Byrd, Jessica Lawrimore and Lyle connected for base hits.
Hartselle 5, Pisgah 3:
After finishing as co-champions in last year's Bob Jones varsity tournament, the Lady Tigers had their sights on an undisputed championship this year.
But so did the Lady Eagles of Pisgah and 41 other teams from around North Alabama and South Tennessee.
Hartselle played six games to reach the championship and got off to a shaky start when the chips were down. Along the way Lady Tiger Anna Corum earned the tournament outstanding offensive player award and teammate Regan Sandlin won the defensive award.
After giving up three unearned runs in the bottom of the first inning, Hartselle pitcher Jessica Lyle settled down and pitched for the next five innings. Sabrina Roberts relieved Lyle in the bottom of the sixth with the bases loaded and two outs. She ended the inning with a strike out and then pitched a scoreless seventh to get the win.
Hartselle got their first run in the top of the third and Corum hit a 2-RBI homer to tie the game in the top of the fourth. The shot was Corum's seventh of the year.
Sandlin hit an RBI-single in the seventh to break the 3-3 tie. Jackson followed Sandlin with an RBI-groundout for the final margin.
Sandlin also connected for a double and had two RBIs and a stolen base for the game. Rachel McAbee ripped a two-bagger and a base hit, while Lyle and Rachel Carden rounded out the hitting with singles.
Hartselle 10, Columbia Central, Tenn. 4:
The Lady Tigers got the scoring started in their opening game of the tournament with a run in the bottom of the first inning.
Columbia Central answered with a run in the top of the second, but Hartselle was to unleash a barrage in their half of the inning.
Lyle and Corum both connected for 2-RBI singles in the bottom of the second. Lindsay McClanahan ripped a one-run single and Rachel McAbee smashed an RBI-triple as Hartselle plated six runs.
The Lady Tigers added two runs in the third and their final in the fourth. Columbia Central added three runs in the fourth inning, but Hartselle turned in two double plays to keep the Tennessee girls from making a game of it.
McClanahan also tripled to share big hit honors with McAbee. Sandlin doubled, while Lyle, Corum, Roberts, Sandlin, Jackson and Carden all singled for 13 Hartselle hits.
McClanahan picked up the win in a complete game.
Hartselle 7, Thompson 0:
Hartselle's Sabrina Roberts pitched her fifth consecutive shutout against perrenial Shelby County powerhouse, Thompson High. She and her teammates allowed only three hits. She struck out two, walked none and posted an ERA of 0.18.
Corum's two-run homer in the bottom of the first got Hartselle started. They added two more runs in the second and capped the game with three in the fifth inning.
McAbee clipped a double and one single to follow Corum on the hitting roster. Singling for Hartselle to round out the 10-hit total were Jessica Lawrimore, Jackson, Anna Byrd, Roberts and Sandlin.
Hartselle 10, Alabama Christian 0:
Corum blasted a first-inning, two-run single to start the Hartselle scoring.
After giving up back-to-back hits in the first inning, Lawrimore worked her way out of the pinch and picked up the shutout in five innings.
The Lady Tigers added five runs in the second inning and two more in the third to get their total.
Robin Halbrooks joined Corum as the game's only extra-base hitters for Hartselle. Lyle ripped three singles. Byrd got two and Jackson, McClanahan, McAbee and Sandlin wrapped up the hitting with singles.
Hartselle 7, Ezell-Harding, Tenn. 1
Coach Pressley used three pitchers to secure the win against their second Tennessee opponent.
Roberts got the win in three innings. Lyle worked the middle two innings and McClanahan got the save in two.
The Lady Tigers scored three in the first, but allowed Ezell-Harding to get on the board with a run in the second inning. Hartselle finished off the game with two runs in both the third and fourth innings.
Corum got the big hit with a double, while Jackson connected for a pair of singles. Other Hartselle hitters were Byrd, Lyle, McClanahan, McAbee and Sandlin.
Hartselle 2, Davidson Academy 1:
The Lady Tigers got their stiffest competition of the tournament from Davidson Academy in a game that reached extra-innings before the first run was scored.
After eight scoreless stanzas, Davidson got on the board with a lone run in the top of the ninth on a rare error by Anna Corum.
Corum answered for her miscue with a two-run double in the bottom of the inning that lifted the Lady Tigers to victory.
McClanahan went the distance in the pitcher's circle to pick up her sixth win of the season.
Corum led the Lady Tigers' hitting with three singles and the game-winning double. Bird and Lyle connected for singles.
Hartselle 4, Grissom 1:
Anna Byrd hit her first varsity home run as Hartselle dispatched another set of Lady Tigers from Grissom High in Huntsville to set up their championship game with Pisgah.
Roberts picked up her 13 th pitching win of the season with six strike outs, four hits and no walks against the Grissom girls.
Hartselle broke onto the scoreboard with a lone run in the bottom of the fourth inning. They added another in the fifth and picked up their final two in the sixth.
Grissom got on the board with one run in the top of the seventh.
Extra-base hits seemed the rule of the day. Lyle bashed a triple and a base hit. McClanahan ripped a 2-RBI triple in the sixth, while Rachel Carden hammered an RBI-double.
Hartselle 10, Huntsville 0:
Back in regular season action, the Lady Tigers pushed their record to 28-6 with a shutout of the Huntsville Lady Panthers.
Corum blasted her eighth homer of the season as the pitching trio of Lawrimore, McClanahan and Lyle combined for a one-hitter. Lawrimore got the win.
Hartselle plated four runs in the first, added four more in the second and finished off the scoring with a pair in the sixth.
Lyle accounted for five RBIs with a triple, double and one single. She needed only the homer to hit for the cycle.
Sandlin bashed two doubles and a single, while Carden ripped a three-bagger along with one base hit.
Halbrooks and McClanahan had one single each.