North, South All-Stars Split Softball Series
Three South All-Star pitchers combined to scatter eight hits and complete a 3-0 shutout win in game one, but the North bounced back with an 8-4 victory in game two Tuesday night in the AHSAA All-Star Sports Week softball series at Montgomery’s Lagoon Park.
With the split, the North team leads the all-time series 22-8-2.
Game 1: South 3, North 0
Starter Devin Brown of Theodore earned the win after getting five strikeouts in the first three innings. The North squad stranded 10 runners in the game, unable to reach home for the first time in the all-time series. Beauregard’s Raina Lanier and Baker’s Deborah Elmore each gave up only two hits and recorded one strikeout in two innings of work to complete the shutout for the South.
The South took advantage of a North error and scored a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the fourth inning before adding and RBI-single by Dothan’s Toni Anderson in the fifth.
Anderson, Amy Persinger of Dallas County and Sydney O’Connor of Montgomery Catholic each recorded RBIs in the win.
For the North, Mars Hill Bible’s Mallory Spurlock and Haleyville’s Holly Ward combined to pitch 5.2 innings of no-hit, shutout softball. The South, however, did its damage against Pisgah’s Megan Smith, getting all three runs on five hits.
North standouts Bevia Robinson of Sparkman and Kaleigh Todd of McAdory each went 2-for-2.
Game 2: North 8, South 4
Spurlock helped the North salvage a split by pitching four no-hit innings, totaled nine strikeouts over the two games and was named the North MVP.
Spurlock was the winning pitcher in the second game as the North overcame an early 3-0 deficit before breaking a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Pelham standout Caitlyn Sapp, named the South MVP, blasted a three-run home run to left field to give the South the early lead.
After scoring on an error and a sacrifice fly to cut the score 3-2, the North got a two-run double by Cherokee County’s Madison Millsaps to grab a 4-3 lead. The South responded with an unearned run in the fifth to tie the game and set the stage for the North’s big seventh inning.
With the game tied and the winning run on third base, Athens’ Brianna Caldwell doubled to left center to score the game-winning run.
The hit drove in Mountain Brook’s Rebecca Blitz and put the North team ahead 5-4. Under All-Star Game rules, the inning was completed, allowing the North to score three more runs.
In addition to pitching the final 1.1 innings and recording four strikeouts to get the win, Spurlock scored a run after drawing a walk in the fourth inning.
Albertville’s Emily Woodruff went 2-for-2 with an RBI for the North while Anderson was 2-for-2 with a run scored.