BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
FOR THE OBSERVER
OXFORD — It was a season of firsts for the Lee-Scott Academy softball team as it made the jump to the Alabama High School Athletic Association.
Under a cloud of uncertainty, the Warriors all season navigated a more difficult schedule, unfamiliar settings and uncharted territory all the way to the 3A state championship tournament.
Yet after a historic season, a 5-2 elimination bracket loss to Mars Hill Bible School on May 13 sent the Warriors back to Auburn on the tournament’s first day, ending a campaign that saw LSA go toe-to-toe with some of Alabama’s largest high schools.
LSA head softball coach Tina Deese was unavailable to conduct a post-season interview by Monday’s press deadline.
The Warriors end their season with a 32-15-1 overall record and as 3A Area 6 champions in the team’s first season as a member of the AHSAA.
Game one: Wicksburg 11, Lee-Scott 1
Matched up against one of the top 3A softball teams in Alabama in the opening round, the Warriors looked to get off to a fast start against Wicksburg High School.
Yet it was the Panthers who struck first in their first at bat with a bases-loaded walk and a sacrificial fly ball into center field scored the runner on third base.
WHS then followed those two runs with two one-run singles and two one-run triples in the bottom of the second inning, which put LSA in an early 6-0 hole.
After neither team was able to get much traction offensively in the third and fourth innings, it appeared the Warriors would get themselves back in the game in the fifth inning with two runners on base. However, an amazing diving catch in the outfield by the Panthers ended a golden opportunity for LSA.
The Warriors were able to finally capitalize on one of their scoring chances in the sixth inning after McKenzie Johnson snuck a double just inside the third base line that brought Sarah Joiner home from second base.
That was the last good news for LSA as WHS nearly doubled their lead in the bottom of the sixth inning with a one-run double, a two-run single and a two-run double that ended the game early as the umpire invoked the mercy rule.
Game Two: Lee-Scott 8, Randolph County 3
After being relegated to the elimination bracket with that loss, the Warriors found themselves in a win-or-go-home matchup against Randolph County High School. With everything on the line, LSA followed up on its one-run letdown against WHS with an early-game offensive avalanche that buried the Tigers.
The scoring began in the bottom of the first inning after the Warriors found themselves with runners on third and first base. Star senior pitcher and outfielder Brianna Totty made good on the situation with a sacrificial fly ball into center field that scored Emmaline Hartzog from third base.
Following a one-run sacrificial fly ball into left field from RCHS that tied the game in the top of the second inning, LSA quickly responded. That response came in the form of a hit from Sydney Dunlap that brought Carlee Baker home from second base before Dunlap was called out at second base.
As the game moved into the third inning, heavy rain set in. Despite the difficulties of pitching a wet ball, LSA gave up no runs and eventually blew the game open with a six-run explosion.
The onslaught began with Ansley Tate’s double, which was mishandled by an RCHS outfielder, that brought Railey Langford home from second base. Later on in the at-bat, Johnson blasted a two-run line-drive single into left field that scored Hartzog and Joiner from second and first base, respectively.
With the Warriors already up 5-1, Addison Mezick added to the run with a line-drive single into center field that scored Totty from second base. That run was then eventually followed up by Baker’s sacrificial fly ball into center field that scored Johnson from third base, and Dunlap’s single ground ball to the Tigers’ shortstop that also scored Mezick from third base.
Following that offensive explosion from the Warriors, neither team could accomplish much offensively in the fourth and fifth innings as a continued drizzle, increasingly muddy infield and wet grass caused conditions to further deteriorate.
As the rain let up in the sixth inning, RCHS slightly ate into LSA’s lead after a run obstruction called at third base scored one runner and a hit that stuck in the thick mud near second base allowed another runner at third base to easily score.
Those runs proved to be the game’s final action and set up a fateful date with MHBS in the first day’s third and final game.
Game Three: Mars Hill 5, Lee-Scott 2
Having just secured an impressive victory over the Tigers, the Warriors moved over one field to take on the Panthers – their third-straight matchup against a feline mascot.
With both teams exhausted after a mentally and physically taxing day of softball, neither was able to truly separate from the other through the first two innings.
MHBS then struck first in the top of the third inning after a failed attempt at a double play at third base following a groundout at first base that allowed a runner to score.
After a frustrating scoring drought continued for LSA despite making good contact with the ball, the Panthers extended their lead in the fourth inning after a bunt and throw-out at first base scored a runner from third.
A fifth inning triple deep into center field that scored a runner from third base then increased MHBS’ lead to 3-0 and presented the Warriors with a deepening hole to dig themselves out of in their final at-bats.
Then, in the sixth inning, LSA finally found its groove offensively after a double from Baker into center field advanced Hartzog to third base. With two runners in scoring position, Mezick gave the Warriors hope for a comeback with a single that floated above the first baseman’s outstretched glove and scored Hartzog and Baker.
It appeared LSA would go on to tie the game after a single from Brittain Harris advanced Mezick into game-tying position. However, a ground out ended the at-bat and set the stage for one last opportunity to keep the Warriors’ season going in the seventh inning.
Any reason for optimism was quickly dashed after indecision behind second base allowed a Panthers single to become a triple and a runner already on second base to score. From there, a ground out at first base allowed the runner on third base to score, making LSA’s task going into their final at-bat more difficult.
While all three of the Warriors’ batters made contact with the ball, two straight groundouts and a fly ball into center field ended the game and LSA’s season.
