The Hartselle Tigers softball team brought home another area championship by defeating Muscle Shoals in the area championship game. The Tigers defeated the Lady Trojans twice, while Muscle Shoals advanced to face the Tigers by defeating Decatur.
“We played a difficult schedule to help prepare us for this time of the season,” Hartselle head coach Chris Reeves said. “Our team has had to battle some injuries here at the end of the season, but they showed their resiliency in winning the area championship.
Sarah Bowling and Katie Gillott were the stars of the day for Hartselle. Bowling pitched 14 innings and allowed seven hits. She held the Lady Trojans, who scored 37 runs in two victories over Decatur, to only one run in two games. Gillott accounted for three of the Tigers’ eight runs with three solo home runs, two in game one and one in the championship game.
“Sarah kept the Lady Trojans off balance throughout the day by hitting her spots,” Reeves said. “Gillott, the Trojan slayer, stepped up and had her best day of the season with her three home runs.”
Championship: Hartselle 4, Muscle Shoals 1
Bowling picked up her second win in Hartselle’s 4-1 victory in the championship game over Muscle Shoals. She gave up one run on four hits in seven innings.
Kaelyn Jones scored the Tigers’ first run in the bottom of the first. Katie Norgard’s single in the third drove home Brooklyn Stiles for a 2-0 lead. Morgan Osborne scored on Jones’ bunt single in the bottom of the fourth. Muscle Shoals got on the board with a home run to cut the lead to 3-1 in the top of the sixth. Gillott hit her third home run of the day in the bottom of the sixth to make the final score 4-1.
Jones and Brit Godfrey each had three hits to lead the Tigers. In addition, Jones had a run scored and an RBI.
Hartselle 4, Muscle Shoals 0
Hartselle scored the game-winner in the first inning when Brooklyn Stiles' bunt single brought home Kaelyn Jones for a 1-0 lead. Gillott hit her first home run of the game to lead off the third inning and then hit her second in the bottom of the fifth to put Hartselle up 3-0. They added an insurance run in the sixth when Brantley Drake’s single brought home Ashtyn King.
Gillott had two hits, two RBI and two runs scored, while Stiles had two hits and an RBI.
Bowling picked up the win after giving up three hits and holding Muscle Shoals scoreless.
Hartselle opens up regional play on Wednesday at 9 am against rival Cullman, who finished runner-up to Mortimer Jordan in their area. It will be the team's first meeting of the season.