Softball champs crowned: Womack Printing victorious at Sr. League tourney
After finishing first in the regular season, Womack Printing claimed the championship trophy in the girls 13-15 senior fast-pitch league tournament Friday night with a 19-2 win over the regular season runner-up team, Cumberland Bank.
Womack turned its game up a notch for the championship finals, scoring five runs in the first inning. April Burkett walked to lead things off, then a single up the middle by Amanda Ferrell put runners on the corners. Ashley McBee hit a triple to right as Burkett and Ferrell scored. Three more hits and a hit battter gave Womack the early lead.
Melissa Carpenter led off with a single for Cumberland but was left stranded as the next three batters went down in order.
In the top of the second Womack’s bats were on fire, scoring 10 runs on 11 hits to take a 15-0 lead. Cumberland scored two runs in its half of the inning when Beth Solomon tripled to left and Laurie Hillis drove a shot to right touching all the bases for a home run to make it a 15-2 game.
Womack added one run in the top of the third when Kristen Thomason homered. Cumberland put two runners on in the third, but the runners were left stranded.
In the top of the fourth Sarah Fryar led off with a single up the middle and later scored on a hit by Burkett. Cumberland went down swinging in order in their half of the fourth.
Womack put runners on in the top of the fifth and sixth innings but solid defense by Cumberland kept them off the scoreboard. Solomom and Hillis tried to get something going for Cumberland in the fifth with base hits to left and right field, respectively, but Womack got out of the inning without any damage being done. In the bottom of the sixth Airrah Matheney singled for Cumberland but was left stranded to give Womack Printing the title.
For Womack Printing, McBee gave up six hits and struck out 10. Womack picked up 25 hits in the game, with Ferrell, McBee and Casi Rogers collecting four hits each. Burkett, Mary Kate Fisher, Fryar and Thomason had three hits each while Lauren Grissom added one hit.
For Cumberland Bank, Carpenter, Solomom, Hillis and Matheney had two hits each and Jennifer Branin added one hit.
• Cumberland Bank defeated Malone’s Remodeling 9-3 in Friday’s early game to move on and face Womack’s in the championship.
In the first inning of that contest, Malone’s Gracie Harvey led off with a walk but was thrown out stealing second and the next two batters grounded out. Cumberland scored two runs in the bottom of the first when Tykesha Martin led off with a single. Hits by LeAnn Smith, Laurie Hillis, Shannon Sain and Solomom gave Cumberland the early lead. Both teams went scoreless in the second. Malone’s tied the game in the top of the third with a triple from Harvey and a passed ball scored Ashlee Malone after she walked.
Cumberland took the lead in the bottom of the third with six runs crossing the plate. Catherine Stubblefield led off the third with a walk, then Melissa Carpenter and LeAnn Smith walked to load the bases. Singles by Hillis, Sain, Solomon and a double by Kris Surles gave Cumberland a 6-2 lead.
Malone’s scored one run in the fifth when Malone singled then made her way to third and stole home. Cumberland added one run in the fifth to secure the win.
For Cumberland, Hillis, Sain and Solomon had two hits each. Martin, Smith, Surles, Crawford, Whitney Hale and Matheney had one hit each. For Malone’s, Harvey, Malone, Brittany Darnbush and Shelly Hurt had one hit each.