BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — Under head coach Tina Deese, Lee-Scott Academy has become accustomed to postseason success on the softball diamond.
However, after making the 3A state tournament last year as a first-year Alabama High School Athletic Association program, the Lady Warriors fell one game short of making it to Oxford again.
Despite a valiant attempt at a seventh-inning rally, the Lady Warriors (22-16) fell 8-5 to rivals No. 3 Glenwood School (30-13) in the central regional tournament at Montgomery’s Lagoon Park Softball Complex on May 14.
It was LSA’s second-consecutive loss against a top-three-ranked team at regionals after defeating Hale County High School (14-14-1) 11-1 and Childersburg High School (26-21) 9-0 on May 13.
The Lady Warriors lost a 6-5 heartbreaker to No. 1 Saint James (34-6-1) in the 3A regional championship game earlier that day that saw LSA ahead entering the bottom of the seventh.
While Deese said she was disappointed with the result, she added that she was extremely proud of her team for coming back and giving their best effort in the afternoon game.
“The emotions [after losing to Saint James], I think, took its toll on us. That was a trap game,” Deese said. “Six years ago, they would have rolled over and died. They’ve come a long way, and early on, [we were] just trying to get them to fight when they got punched, to punch back. That was what we wanted to do. But they’ve come a long way since that time. They’re throwing a bunch of punches and taking a bunch of punches and coming back.”
Although the tears flowed amongst LSA’s team, the team’s three seniors acquitted themselves bravely with their play.
Karlee Baker finished the tournament 4-for-11 with seven runs and two RBIs, Railey Langford tallied two runs and three RBIs on 4-for-13 batting and McKenzie Johnson went 2-for-11 with an RBI.
On the mound, Langford also carried the load for the Lady Warriors. The right-handed ace threw 18 ⅓ innings across three games and gave up 17 hits, eight runs — five earned — while walking one and striking out 15.
Deese thanked her graduating players for the foundation they helped build as LSA looks to navigate an entirely new classification next year that features tougher competition.
“The work ethic has been there, and the leadership and caring for the other ones was something that we wanted to make sure that we did this year, to work with the younger kids and bring them along,” Deese said. “They did a really good job. I think they were typically the spark plug. They just really have guided the whole group along. Even the seniors from last year and the year before, I think, relied a lot on this group of seniors this year. They have meant everything. They’re great kids. They’re not just good ball players, they’re really, really, really good people.”
The regional tournament also gave the Lady Warriors a glimpse of the future as they prepare to navigate reclassification into the AHSAA’s new Class AA Private division.
Mattie Dunnam recorded four runs and four RBIs on 4-for-12 batting, Britt Harris finished 5-for-12 with five runs and an RBI and Ansley Nelms went 4-for-14 while racking up four runs and two RBIs.
Next year, LSA will be grouped with Glenwood, Houston Academy and Montgomery Catholic — all schools that also have a rich softball traditions.
“It’s going to be a tough dang area. We just went from tough to tougher,” Deese said. “I think at this point, not that next year is going to be the same, but I think they’ll know who Lee-Scott is at this point.”
