By Staff
Staff Reports, Hartselle Enquirer
Hartselle turned in an impressive performance at the 64-team Beach Blast Tournament in Gulf Shores last week, going 5-0 in pool play and earning the No. 1 seed before falling in a close 2-1 loss to Vestavia Hills in the semifinals. The Lady Tigers were the only Class 5A team to make the Final Four, a group that also included Class 6A Sparkman and Grissom.
Kayla Orr's solo home run in the top of the fourth inning was the only run Hartselle could score against the Lady Rebels, ranked No. 1 in Class 6A. Mary Curtis took the loss, allowing two earned runs in the bottom of the fourth. Vestavia Hills moved on to defeat Sparkman 6-2 in the championship game.
Breanna Segars was 4-0 on the mound for the Lady Tigers, and was named to the All-Tournament team along with Shanice Johnson. Curtis had an outstanding performance on the mound against Saks, pitching a no-hitter.
Single-elimination tournament round:
Hartselle 7
East Limestone 6 (6 innings)
In the tournament quarterfinal, East Limestone took a 6-4 lead in the top of the sixth but Hartselle came back with three runs in the bottom of the inning to advance to the semifinals.
Lindsay Robinson had two RBIs for Hartselle, which got an RBI each from Segars, Johnson and Kristy Pevahouse. East Limestone scored four runs in the first off Segars, but the Lady Tigers battled back with two runs in the bottom of the first and one each in the third and fourth innings. Curtis picked up the win, pitching 1.1 innings after taking over for Segars.
Hartselle 5
Mt. Juliet (Tenn.) 1
Curtis scattered five hits and struck out three as Hartselle won its seventh-straight game of the tournament against Mt. Juliet in the second round of the playoffs.
Orr had two RBIs and Audrey McClanahan, Catie Keel and Pevahouse each batted in a run. Robinson scored two runs.
Hartselle 4
Pleasant Grove 3 (10 innings)
Hartselle and Pleasant Grove had a back-and-forth battle in the first round, with the Lady Tigers ending on top. The game remained scoreless until the seventh inning, when Hartselle went ahead 1-0 only to see the Lady Spartans tie it in the bottom of the seventh. The Lady Tigers went ahead 2-1 in the eighth only to have Pleasant Grove tie it once more. Finally in the 10th Hartselle scored two runs and held the Lady Spartans to one to hold on to a hard-fought victory.
Segars pitched all 10 innings for Hartselle, allowing six hits and four walks while striking out four. All three runs she allowed were unearned. Johnson was 2-for-3 and Segars and Keel each had an RBI.
Pool play:
Hartselle 3
Father Ryan (Tenn.) 1
Segars pitched seven innings for the win, striking out two and allowing two hits. Keel finished 2-for-3 and scored two runs. Segars had an RBI single.
Hartselle 2
Saks 0
Curtis finished with a no-hitter, walking one and striking out seven. Whitney Collins scored a run and had an RBI and Johnson collected an RBI single.
Hartselle 2
McAdory 1
Hartselle scored a run in the bottom of the sixth to knock off the Lady Jackets. Segars picked up the win, scattering five hits and striking out four. Orr was 2-for-3 and scored two runs and Michel Fields and Robinson each had RBIs. Fields' RBI double in the sixth was the game-winning hit.
Hartselle 2
Pelham 1
Fields had her second-straight game-winning hit, coming up with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth as Hartselle improved to 4-0 in pool play. McClanahan stole second and third before coming home to score on Fields' hit. Johnson had the other RBI and Segars pitched two-hit ball for the win, striking out seven.
Hartselle 6
Elmore County 2
Curtis struck out six in six innings as the Lady Tigers finished pool play 5-0. Johnson and Kimmie Minor each had two RBIs. Hartselle scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take the victory.