Lady Barons Fall At SSAC Tourney
Courtesy of BPC
Postseason play began on Thursday afternoon for Brewton-Parker college Softball at the 2024 SSAC Softball Championship in Decatur, Ala. The No. 6-seeded Lady Barons challenged the No. 3-seeded Rams of Mobile (Ala.) to open the tournament. After falling to the Rams in an extrainning 2-1 defeat, BPC faced No. 8-seed Thomas (Ga.) in a win-or-gohome contest. Brewton-Parker dropped another extra-inning game, 7-3, after coming from behind to extend the game past seven innings. vs. Mobile
Tori Wright produced a two-out single in the first inning and was left stranded to close the inning scoreless. Defensively, Natalie O’Neal opened with back-to-back strikeouts to open the bottom half of the first before the Lady Barons managed to keep the Rams scoreless with a pair of runners left on base.
Alyssa Usrey singled to open the second frame and was pushed to second on a sacrifice bunt from Chloe Strickland. Taylor Elliott notched a base hill for runners on the corners, yet Usrey and Elliot were left on the bags to close the inning. Alexis Bradshaw reached on an error from leadoff position in the third inning, following with a big shift to third base after a stolen bag at second and a miscue from the shortstop. Bradshaw was able to come home on a fielder’s choice RBI from Destiny Lucas to give BPC the 1-0 lead. O’Neal and the Lady Barons defense hung another scoreless inning for Mobile with a pair of strikeouts in the process.
The Rams made a change in the circle in the fourth and made quick work of the Lady Barons before taking a single in the bottom half of the inning. Fortunately for BPC, Mobile was unable to capitalize.
After another gutsy defensive effort for the Brewton-Parker in the bottom of the fifth, the Rams were able to overcome the scoreless fifth frame by answering in the sixth with a run to tie the game. Both teams were left scoreless in the seventh inning, forcing extra innings.
Ashley Wilson reached on an error and was moved to second on a sacrifice hit from Bradshaw. Lucas reached on a fielder’s choice, but Wilson was called out while trying to advance to third. Unfortunately, Mobile claimed the contest with a pair of hits and a sacrifice flyout to win 2-1.
Mobile led 5-4 in hits and gave away three errors as well. Wright led BPC with two hits while Lucas notched the lone RBI in Bradshaw. Bradshaw, Strickland, and Wilson all notched sacrifice hits. O’Neal pitched for 5.1 innings and gave away one earned run on three hits while walking six batters and striking out four. Kira Altman closed the game with 2.1 innings, allowing two hits for an earned run. vs. Thomas
The Night Hawks opened the elimination game with a run in the first inning, scoring off an error from the Lady Barons. Brewton- Parker notched a leadoff single from Usrey in the second inning but exited the frame scoreless.
Thomas notched a pair of hits in the top of the third and one in the fourth, but the BPC defensive efforts forced the Night Hawks to leave a total of three runners on base. It wasn’t until the bottom of the fifth inning that the Lady Barons managed to tie the game at 1-1.
Strickland singled to lead the inning off and stole a pair of bases before a walk from Elliot. Wilson barreled a base hit to score Strickland for the leveling run as BPC left a runner stranded in the process.
Thomas warmed up the bats in the sixth inning with a double, followed by a sacrifice fly for a 2-1 lead. The Night Hawks added to the tally with another double, a walk, a hit-by-pitch, and an RBI single to move to a 3-1 advantage.
The Lady Barons were left scoreless in the sixth despite a walk from Wright and a single from Usrey. Brewton-Parker answered in the seventh, forcing an eighth inning. Hailey Gabrich doubled down the left-field line to open the frame and was moved to third on a fielder’s choice.
After a stolen base from Wilson, Bradshaw pushed Gabrich home just before Wright singled for an RBI to tie the game at 3-3. With two outs, BPC had an opportunity to score and win the game. Unfortunately, the Lady Barons left all three runners on the bases.
The Night Hawks jumped ahead of the Lady Barons in the eighth with an RBI single, a sacrifice fly, and two runs scored off an error to claim a 7-3 lead to essentially slam the door shut on BPC. Brewton-Parker fought hard with a single and a pair of two-out walks to load the bases, but left all three stranded to close the game.
Thomas led 11-9 in hits. Brewton-Parker gave away two errors. Wright, Usrey, and Strickland all led with two hits each. Bradshaw, Wilson, and Wright all recorded an RBI each. The BPC base runners stole five bags, led by Strickland’s two. Altman pitched the first 5.2 innings and allowed six hits for three earned runs while walking one. O’Neal pitched the final 2.1 innings, giving away five hits for four runs with two being earned. She walked three and struck out two.
The Lady Barons wrap up their season with a 27-21 record overall and will look ahead toward the 2025 season.
