Record-setting night in Tigers’ victory over Athens

Hartselle players celebrate Katie Norgard’s second home run of the game, a three-run shot that gave the Tigers an 11-10 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning of the Tigers’ 13-10 victory over Athens. Photo by Jim Meadows
Hartselle players celebrate Katie Norgard’s second home run of the game, a three-run shot that gave the Tigers an 11-10 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning of the Tigers’ 13-10 victory over Athens. Photo by Jim Meadows

A Hartselle softball record was broken and another was tied in Hartselle’s 13-10 come-from-behind victory over No. 2 Athens. Kaelyn Jones picked up her school-record 224th hit, surpassing the mark set by Larissa Preuitt last season. Katie Norgard, who went 3-for-4 with two home runs, tied a school record with seven RBI in the victory. Karsi Lentz had seven RBI in last season’s area tournament win over Decatur. and seven RBIs to lead Hartselle. Morgan Stiles drove in three runs for Athens.

The Tigers scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth to complete their comeback victory. They trailed 10-8, going into the bottom of the sixth. They took the lead on Norgard’s second home run of the game, a three-run shot, and then added two more runs for the 13-10 final score.

Jones finished with two hits, an RBI and two runs scored, while Brit Godfrey added two hits and an RBI.

Blayne Godfrey picked up the win after through 2 ⅔ innings of scoreless relief, striking out five. Bailey Lawrence got the start, allowing 10 runs on four hits in 4 ⅓ innings.

In other games, Hartselle picked up wins over 5A No. 9 Lawrence County, 4A No. 2 Orange Beach, and Faith Academy while taking losses from 7A No. 1 Central-Phenix City, 7A No. 2 Hewitt-Trussville, 7A No. 4 Hoover and 5A No. 5 Helena.

Hartselle 11, Lawrence County 0
Lawrence threw a three-hit shutout to lead the Tigers to an 11-0 win. VK Hoyle had three hits and two RBI, while Brit Godfrey added two hits and three RBI.

Hewitt-Trussville 8, Hartselle 1
The Tigers lost 8-1 on the road at Hewitt-Trussville. Jones had two hits to lead Hartselle, while Blayne Godfrey had a hit and an RBI. Godfrey took the loss in the circle, striking out nine while allowing eight runs on 11 hits.

Central-Phenix City 5, Hartselle 4
The Tigers battled with Central-Phenix City but came up short in the 5-4 loss. Norgard hit a home run, added a double with an RBI, and scored two runs.

Hartselle 6, Faith Academy 1
Lawrence picked up the win after pitching four innings in the Tigers' 6-1 win over Faith Academy. She allowed one run on three hits with six strikeouts. Brooklyn Stiles had a triple and two RBI to lead Hartselle.

Helena 6, Hartselle 5
In another battle of ranked opponents, the Tigers dropped another one-run decision, 6-5 to Helena. Blayne Godfrey and Norgard both homered, doubled, and had two RBI in the loss.

Hartselle 9, Orange Beach 5
The Tigers picked up a 9-5 win over their sixth ranked opponent of the week, Orange Beach, at the Hoover Invitational. Blayne Godfrey had two hits, including a home run and five RBI, while picking up the win in the circle. She pitched three innings, allowing four runs on three hits. Sarah Bowling earned the save in three innings of relief. Stiles had three hits and scored three runs.

Hoover 7, Hartselle 4
In their final game of the Hoover Invitation, the Tigers fell 7-4 to the host team. Norgard had a hit and two RBI, while Morgan Osborne and Stiles each added a hit, an RBI and a run scored.