Panthers, Pirates advance to state tournament

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
FLORENCE — The Hackleburg Lady Panthers and the Winfield Lady Pirates are advancing to the state tournament after winning the 1A and 3A North Regional Tournaments.
The Panthers won the NAC Tournament, then proceeded to win the 1A Area 13 Tournament, defeating Phillips and Belgreen to advance to regionals.
At regionals, the Lady Panthers dominated their competition, defeating the Athens Bible Trojans 12-2, conquering the Cherokee High School Indians 11-3 and forcing a surrender from the Waterloo Cougars 14-1.
In the game against Cherokee, Braylynn Pope, Saylor Cooper and Payten Herron hit two runs each. Carson Browning, Kaylee Ables, Heidi Hudson, Hannah Johnson and Ellie Nichols hit one run each.
Ables brought in three RBIs. Pope, Herron and Madelyn Burt brought in three RBIs each.
From the mound, Laine Steward pitched seven innings, allowing three runs off of five hits while throwing five strikeouts.
Marion County also advanced to regionals after finishing the 1A Area 12 as runners-up after falling to Lynn.
The Lady Red Raiders lost to Waterloo 10-1 in the first round, and then lost to Meek 7-1 in the first round of the loser’s bracket to end their season.
The Winfield Lady Pirates advanced to regionals after adding another 3A Area 12 Tournament win to their record.
The Pirates defeated Phil Campbell and Colbert Heights to win area, then played Danville in the first round of the regional tournament.
The Pirates busted Danville 10-0, then defeated Mars Hill 3-0 in the second round.
The final round of the regional tournament was a rematch between the Lady Pirates and the Colbert Heights Wildcats.
After a close game, the Lady Pirates emerged victorious 4-3 to win the 3A North Regional Tournament.
Over the course of the tournament, Kenna Beth Lacy pitched one complete game win with zero earned runs and nine strikeouts. She also batted six for eight with 3 RBIs.
Willa Simmons pitched for two complete game wins. In game one, she allowed only one hit and zero runs, and in game two, she allowed three earned runs.
Maddie Grace Lewis hit four for 9 with two RBIs.
Abby Channell hit 6-9 with one RBI, and Lexi May batted 3-7 with 1 RBI.
The Hamilton Lady Aggies also advanced to the regional tournament, but will not be advancing to state.
The Lady Aggies beat the West Limestone Wildcats 9-4 in the first round, but then lost their second-round game against the Brooks Lions 6-0.
The Lady Aggies played the Central - Florence Wildcats in their first round in the loser’s bracket, but were knocked out of the tournament after a 3-0 loss.
The Lady Aggies ended their season with an overall record of 28-10