BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
LEE COUNTY — The Opelika High School and Smiths Station High School softball teams split their series, with the Lady Panthers riding a four-run third inning to a 9-5 road victory on April 7 and the Lady Bulldogs returning the favor with a 10-8 road win on April 9.
With the results in hand, OHS found itself at 16-14 overall and 1-3 in 7A Area 4 play, while SSHS sat at 14-9 overall and 1-1 in Area 4.
Across the two games, McCall Clayton finished 4-for-7 with two home runs, four runs and four RBIs, and Emily Birmingham went 2-for-8 with one home run, one run and four RBIs for the Lady Bulldogs.
McKenzie Lester was 4-for-7 with one run and five RBIs, and Libby Parkman finished 4-for-8 with two runs and two RBIs in those same games for the Lady Panthers.
While both teams earned much-needed area wins, the second game was more important for OHS: the Lady Bulldogs’ last area win was a 4-3 victory against SSHS on March 14, 2024. Although the first game had its share of moments, the second game provided the series’ sparks.
OHS head coach Jessica Thornton lauded her team’s heart and grit after losing three straight heartbreakers in area play.
“On Tuesday, we kind of came out flat, so we really talked about bringing that energy in this game, and I couldn’t be more proud of how they did,” Thornton said. “We’ve got some young’uns who are coming up in big moments, and it’s just fun to watch them grow. They were able to flush [the April 7 game] and hold their composure better.”
Although Clayton’s bat and baserunning powered the Lady Bulldogs to the win, the night belonged to Birmingham. The senior third baseman’s grand slam in the eighth inning — the second grand slam of her OHS career — pushed her team over the finish line and made Thornton’s eyes “run hot.”
“I honestly knew as soon as it left the bat. I was already slowing up and couldn’t even believe I did that. I knew it, I knew it,” Birmingham said. “It’s freaking awesome. We needed that so bad, and our team just put it together. I’m so proud of us.”
Game One
JZ Agee opened the scoring in the first inning for the Lady Bulldogs with a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Jaylee Williams.
However, SSHS broke the game open in the top of the third, plating four runs. Lynzie Mounce doubled to right field to score Bristol Ward from second base. Lester followed with an RBI single back to the pitcher, bringing home Courtney Allen. Chloe Johnson singled to right, scoring Makenna Pearce, and Korbyn Missildine grounded into a fielder’s choice near second base, plating Peyton Huckelba.
Down 4-1, the Lady Bulldogs answered in the bottom half when McCall Clayton launched a solo home run to left field.
The Lady Panthers then added a run in the fourth when Allen singled to the shortstop, scoring Parkman from third.
Agee’s solo shot to left in the bottom of the sixth trimmed the deficit for OHS, but SSHS put the game away with a four-run seventh. Johnson’s single up the middle scored Huckelba, Sydney Morris blooped a single to right to bring in Lester and Parkman’s bunt single plated Johnson. Morris then stole home during a chaotic rundown as a teammate was caught trying to steal second.
The Lady Bulldogs later rallied for two in the bottom of the seventh. Jas Smith grounded into a fielder’s choice that scored Kaiden Sallie, and Agee reached first on an error near third base that brought in Smith, but the comeback fell short.
Game Two
SSHS jumped out early in the rematch, scoring twice in each of the first two innings. Mounce ripped an RBI single to the shortstop to score Kayla Fuller, and Brooke Norred singled to left to score Allen in the first. In the second, Parkman doubled to center to bring home Morris, and Lester singled to right to plate Fuller.
Facing a daunting lead, OHS answered with a four-run fifth. Williams singled to center to score Braelynn Brooks from second, and Clayton followed with a two-out, three-run homer over the left-field fence that also brought in Williams and KG Soltau.
Sallie scored on a wild pitch in the sixth to cut the deficit to one, but Lester’s two-out double to center in the bottom half scored Morris and Allen, pushing the Lady Panthers’ lead back to 6-5.
Facing a do-or-die situation, the Lady Bulldogs tied the game in the top of the seventh when Caitlyn Morgan singled to center, scoring Clayton and sending the game to extra innings.
Birmingham finally broke the dam in the eighth with a two-out grand slam that hit the top of the center-field fence and just rolled over, scoring Smith, Clayton and Agee ahead of her.
However, SSHS refused to quit and pushed across two runs in the bottom of the eighth on fielder’s-choice grounders by Lester and Mounce, which scored Morris and Parkman, respectively, but the rally stalled there.
