Lady Tigers take top spot at Hoover Classic

The Lady Tigers, 43-7-1, who moved to the top spot in the 6A rankings last week, brought home the Hoover Classic championship Saturday afternoon with a win over 6A No. 2 Athens in the tournament’s final game.

Hartselle also picked up wins over 7A No. 7 Hoover and 2A No. 1 and defending state champion Orange Beach, which is coached by former Hartselle head coach Shane Alexander.

The Lady Tigers started with three wins in pool play, defeating Oak Mountain 14-3, Alabama Christian 12-2, and Foley 11-1.

Hartselle opened bracket play with a 7-2 win over Orange Beach, which advanced to bracket play with a 10-0 win over Austin.

The Lady Tigers defeated the tournament’s host, Hoover, in the semifinals, 6-3.

In the finals, Hartselle took down Athens 6-4. The Lady Golden Eagles had previously defeated the Lady Tigers in the semifinals of the Gulf Coast Classic earlier this season.

Larissa Preuitt led the Lady Tigers with 12 hits, 10 runs scored, and nine stolen bases. Karsi Lentz finished with seven hits, two home runs, nine RBIs, and six runs. Kaelyn Jones had six hits, seven RBIs, and four runs, while Brantley Drake had six hits, seven RBIs, and six runs. Riley Cate Wolf had six hits, five RBIs, and five runs.

Blayne Godfrey picked up three wins and a save while striking out 20 in four games. Sarah Bowling won two games, while Zoey Crawford won one.

Senior Night
Thursday the Lady Tigers celebrated senior night with an 8-1 win over Huntsville. The Lady Tigers were celebrating the careers of Preuitt, Lentz, Mary Elizabeth Booth, Crawford, Brylie Singleton, Emily Hall, and Alanna Evans.

In the win, the seven seniors combined for seven hits, seven RBIs, five runs, a double, a triple, and a stolen base.

Crawford pitched a complete game, allowing one run on eight hits while striking out two.