BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
SMITHS STATION — Following a turnaround that saw Glenwood School go from 13-24 last year to state tournament participants this year, its underclassman-heavy team set its sights on winning a 3A state championship.
Instead, the No. 3 Lady Gators (31-15) saw their year end in three games, dropping an 8-2 decision to eventual state runner-up No. 2 Colbert County High School (51-10), rebounding for a 6-2 win over T.R. Miller High School (19-22) then falling 5-3 in elimination to defending champs No. 4 Wicksburg High School (37-16) at Choccolocco Park on May 21.
For Glenwood head coach Josh McConnell, the day was a grind, but the fight his team displayed until the final out spoke louder than the elimination loss.
“To be down 4-0, they could have cashed in, but they didn’t and they made it a game,” McConnell said. “I’m very much proud of them. I know we did so many things that nobody thought we would do, and so it’s a testament to them and how they go about their business and the work they put in.”
Karrington Slocumb anchored the middle of the order across the three games, going 3-for-10 with five RBIs and a run scored.
Chloe Walden also went 3-for-10, adding three runs scored and a hit in each game, and leadoff hitter Cayden Henderson finished 2-for-8 with four runs scored and two RBIs.
In the circle, Brooke Morrell shouldered the heaviest workload, logging 10 ⅓ innings across two appearances. The right-hander allowed nine hits and eight runs — six earned — walking three and striking out three.
Caroline Chapa took both decisions for Glenwood, throwing 8 ⅔ innings over two outings and surrendering 20 hits and seven earned runs while walking six and striking out four.
Game 1: Colbert County 8, Glenwood 2
In the opener, CCHS jumped on Chapa early after Creleigh Gargis singled home a run in the first inning.
The Lady Indians then broke the game open in the second when Hallie Holland doubled in a run and Kylee Holland followed with a three-run home run to left field.
RBI hits by Megan Wisdom and Harmonie McClain in the third extended the lead.
Morrell came on in relief of Chapa and gave up three runs on three hits over 4 ⅓ innings while walking three and striking out three.
However, the Lady Gators had no answer for CCHS’s Makayli Davis, who dominated from the first pitch.
Over seven innings, the University of North Alabama signee struck out 15 Glenwood batters over seven innings while allowing just three hits.
The Lady Gators eventually stole runs off of the senior ace in the fourth, when Morrell doubled to center to score Henderson from first, and in the fifth, when Henderson lined a ground ball past third to score Caroline Breazeale.
Game 2: Glenwood 6, T.R. Miller 2
Glenwood found its footing against TRMHS in the consolation game, scoring twice in the first inning when Walden came home on a passed ball and Chapa grounded into a fielder’s choice that brought Henderson in from third.
Lola Moncus lined into a double play to right field in the third, but Slocumb tagged up and scored from third to push the lead to 3-0.
The Lady Tigers cut into the deficit in the top of the sixth with Kate Rambach’s RBI single and Madi Anderson’s RBI double, but the Lady Gators answered in the bottom half.
Henderson singled to center to score Claire Hargrove from second, and Slocumb followed with a two-run double to left field that plated Walden and Henderson to put the game out of reach.
Chapa went the distance for the win, scattering 13 hits over seven innings while allowing just two runs and striking out two.
Four TRMHS pitchers stepped into the circle, with Ollie Billingsley taking the loss. In four innings, she allowed three hits and one earned run while walking three and striking out one.
Slocumb led the offense with two hits and two RBIs, while Walden added a triple.
Game 3: Wicksburg 5, Glenwood 3
In the elimination game against WHS, the Lady Panthers struck first when Abbie Ellenburg doubled home a run in the first, then added three more in the third on an error and a Chloe Joyner sacrifice fly.
Down 4-0 entering the fifth inning, Glenwood answered in the top of the frame when Slocumb, facing two outs, laced a three-RBI double to left field that scored Kady Corbitt, Walden and Henderson to pull the Lady Gators within one.
Despite Glenwood’s efforts, WHS got a run back in the bottom of the inning and held on for the 5-3 win.
Morrell took the loss in the circle, going six innings and giving up five runs — three earned — on six hits, walking one and striking out one.
Lady Panthers starter Ellie Cox struck out 10 Lady Gators over seven innings while allowing just three hits.
The school’s first Alabama High School Athletic Association state tournament appearance capped a season of program milestones for the Lady Gators, who won both the Valley tournament and the 3A Area 6 tournament.
“It’s huge for our program in the sense of getting here and understanding what this is like, because this is different,” McConnell said. “The guarantee of playing three games in one day, I don’t care where you’re at and what you’re doing, but it’s hot as crap. That’s really hard. But now we’ve got a feel for it, and it’s like I told them, I don’t want this to be a one and done. I want us to be a mainstay here.”
For Glenwood’s two departing seniors, the loss closed out a career that helped reshape the program’s trajectory.
“They led us all year and were able to flip the script from last year,” McConnell said. “It’s never a good thing when it ends, but they’ve got bigger things coming, and they have to understand that. But they were a huge part of our program for a long time, so it’s sad to see [them] leave.”
