Messenger file photo by Gary Wells
By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor
The Glencoe High softball team finished fourth out of eight teams at the Class 3A East Regional Tournament last weekend in Montgomery.
After dropping to the playback bracket following a 10-0 loss to Pleasant Valley on May 14, the Lady Yellow Jackets posted a 3-0 shutout over Walter Wellborn later that day.
Last Saturday (May 15), Glencoe edged Reeltown, 7-6, to move the quarterfinal round, where the Lady Jackets fell to Pleasant Valley, 10-2.
Against Pleasant Valley in the opener for Glencoe, Summer Crump had a pair of hits, while Kaylee Higdon had one.
Abi Bunt’s three-run home run was all the offense the Lady Jackets needed against Walter Wellborn. Jaxson Sizemore (pictured above) and Casey Willett each had a hit and scored a run, while Kayla Traylor and Kaylee Higdon both had a hit. Crump went all seven innings in the circle, striking out four.
With Glencoe trailing Reeltown by three runs and down to its last out, the Lady Jackets tied the game on Willett’s three-run home run. Glencoe then loaded the bases and won when Traylor was hit by a pitch. Willett ended up going 3-for-4 with four RBI and a run scored. Higdon went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored, while Traylor went 1-for-2 with an RBI and two runs scored. Higdon, Crump and Aubrey Maxwell also scored a run. Jordyn Morris struck out four in six innings.
Against Pleasant Valley in the quarterfinals, Bunt went 3-for-4 with a home run, an RBI and two runs scored. Sizemore went 2-for-3, while Traylor, Willett and Hailey Hanners each had a hit.
With several freshman and sophomore starters and no pitcher with varsity experience, GHS head coach Tommy Stanley considered 2021 a very successful year for his young squad.
“Even though the record is not what you want it to be, you have look at the season as a whole,” he said. “As the fourth seed in the area tournament, we upset the No. 1 seed twice and won two games at state and wound up as one of the top 16 teams in the state. We also set a record for home runs in a season. So that’s pretty good for a team that wasn’t supposed to go anywhere.”