By James Dubuisson | Special to the Advertiser

The Lady Rebels of Thorsby High School defeated Maplesville on Monday afternoon, 10-9.

MHS went up 2-0 in the top of the first inning off of two doubles and a single from the first three batters in the lineup.

After the Lady Red Devils set down the first two Lady Rebels batters of the game, Braiden Gottier reached base off an MHS error. THS would take advantage of the extra out. Josie Adams was the next batter for THS. She found a pitch that she liked and drove it to left field. The softball carried over the fence for a two run homerun that tied the game at 2-2.

The game stayed that way until the top of the third inning, when MHS went up 5-2.

THS would cut that three-run lead to one in the bottom half of the inning, as runs scored off of a Lady Red Devil error and a RBI groundout by Kelly Nord.

MHS appeared to have put the Lady Rebels away when they extended their lead to five with a four run fourth inning. They led 9-4 with only three innings left to play.

But coach Rachel Argent’s Lady Rebels were not done yet.

Senior Whitley Hines got THS’s rally started with a one out single in the bottom of the fourth inning. Savannah Bice and Taylor McManus followed suit with singles of their own. McManus’s single drove in Hines to narrow the gap to four runs. The next Lady Rebels’ batter, Gottier, hit a sacrifice groundout that drove Bice in.

THS completed their comeback in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Lady Rebels trimmed the lead to two runs when McManus drove in her second run of the day. MHS’s lead was down to one run after another THS RBI single, this one coming off the bat of Gottier. Gottier would later score the eventual winning run off of an Adams double.

THS led 10-9 heading into the final frame. Starting pitcher Taylor McManus was able to finish her complete game victory, holding MHS scoreless in the last stanza.

The whole team contributed in the batter’s box, as eight of the 10 Lady Rebels that had at-bats reached base in the game. Adams led the team, as she had a double and a home run, which led to her 3 RBI.

Natalie Arnold was 3-for-4 at the dish for the Lady Red Devils.

By Stephen Dawkins | Assistant Managing Editor

Thorsby’s softball team now has a winning record for the season.

The Rebels improved to 4-3 with Tuesday’s 15-0, four-inning win over Holt.

Homestanding THS scored eight runs in the bottom of the first inning, four runs in the bottom of the second and three runs in the fourth to end the game early via mercy rule.

Josie Adams, meanwhile, pitched a no-hitter. She allowed only one batter to reach base, with a walk in the top of the second inning.

Katie Atkins had a hit in each of her three at-bats, with one run scored and three runs batted in.

Adams, Haley Barnett and Whitley Hines each had multiple hits. Barnett recorded two runs scored and two RBI, and Hines had three runs scored and one RBI.

Neither Jemison nor Thorsby won the Chilton County Baseball Tournament last week, but the two teams might have played the best game of the event.

Jemison defeated Thorsby, 6-5, in 10 innings on March 17 in a semifinal game to avenge a loss to the Rebels earlier in the tournament.

The Panthers built a 4-0 lead, watched as THS tied the game and then won in the bottom of the 10th when a Jacob Hatch one-out bloop single over first base dropped just in, then kicked into foul territory, allowing Jacob Bass to score from second base.

An exhausted JHS team fell to rival Chilton County, 12-2, in the tournament final.

Jemison trailed 3-2 after 3 1/2 innings, but CCHS plated six runs in the bottom of the fourth and never looked back.

Austin Broadhead, Alex Campbell and Danny Eslinger had Jemison’s only hits in the game. Austin Chapman and Dylan Higgins each took two walks.

Thorsby started the double-elimination tournament red hot, defeating Jemison and Verbena, but then fell in consecutive games to Chilton and Jemison.

After falling to the Rebels, the Panthers fought their way through the losers bracket with wins over Maplesville and Verbena.

Jemison survived for the second consecutive day, while Verbena wasn’t so fortunate.

The Panthers defeated VHS, 17-7, in five innings on Friday to advance to the final day of the Chilton County Baseball Tournament.

Tournament host Verbena had its run ended with its second loss.

Jemison will play the winner of Friday night’s Chilton County-Thorsby game (which ended too late to be included in this report) at 10 a.m. Saturday at Clanton’s Jack Hayes Field. Once again, the one-loss Panthers will be playing to stay alive in an elimination game.

JHS scored at least two runs in each of its half innings Friday.

The Panthers put up a pair in the bottom of the first inning to take a 2-1 lead, and then blew the game open with six runs in the second on four hits and one walk.

But Verbena answered with four runs in the top of the third on two hits, two walks and three Jemison errors, forcing a pitching change.

JHS tallied five runs in the bottom half of the inning and four more in the fourth. Verbena could push only one across in the top of the fifth, so the game ended early.

Jemison’s Nos. 5 and 6 hitters, Jackson Mims and Alex Campbell, each went 3-for-4 with a double at the plate and drove in three runs.

Jacob Hatch was 2-for-4 with a double, four RBI and three runs scored.

Verbena’s Christian Agee had a hit in each of his three at-bats. One hit was a triple. He scored one run and drove in another.

Chase McCary came on in relief for Jemison with no outs in the third inning. He struck out the side and allowed one earned run in two innings of work.

The Jemison Lady Panthers defeated the Maplesville Red Devils 6-3 in pool play on Day 2 of the Chilton County Softball Tournament.

Chilton County defeated Isabella, 7-1, in the second game of the day to the earn the top seed out of Pool B.

After more pool play games, a single elimination tournament will be played Saturday at Maplesville to determine the county champion.

The third game Friday, between Thorsby and Maplesville, ended too late to be included in this report, but if MHS were to win, there would be a three-way tie in Pool A, and coaches would draw for seeding.

After the first two batters of the bottom of the first inning of the first game, Jemison shortstop Shelby Lopez got the first hit of the game with a triple. She was brought home on a single by Tiffany Guin.

The Lady Panthers tacked on one more run in the inning to put them up 2-0 after one inning of play.

Jemison added to their lead in the bottom of the second inning. After a single and a walk, centerfielder Shelby Griffin hit a two-run triple. She later scored off a two-run double hit by Denten Ellison.

The Lady Panthers’ 6-0 lead was cut down by MHS in the top of the third. After 2 2/3 innings of no-hit softball, JHS starting pitcher Guin finally allowed a single, by Red Devil center fielder Natalie Arnold.

Arnold would score later in the inning off of a JHS fielding error. Guin got out of the inning with a 6-1 lead.

The Lady Panthers’ bats cooled off when Alexus Goggins came in to pitch for the Red Devils. Goggins only allowed one hit and two walks in her three innings of relief for MHS.

Guin was able to protect JHS’s lead in the final two innings she pitched. She pitched a complete game, only allowing one earned run and striking out four batters.

The Lady Panthers offense was led by Griffin, who went 2-for-3 with a triple, two runs batted in and a run scored. Ellison also had two RBI for Jemison as she went 1-for-2 with a double and a walk.

“We hit much better today,” JHS coach Leighsa Robinson said. “We played as a team today; that was the difference today from yesterday.”

MHS’s Arnold scored two of the Red Devils’ three runs. She had two singles and two stolen bases.

From Staff Reports

Jemison’s boys tennis team defeated Thompson on Thursday, 9-0.

Winners included Andrew Morton (8-4), Jake Long (8-4), Trevon Anderson (8-4), William Morton (8-0), Dylan Cummings (9-7) and Brett Paschal (8-4); and the doubles teams of Andrew Morton/Long (8-6), Anderson/Cummings and William Morton/Paschal (8-0).

The Panthers also defeated Homewood, 9-0, on March 14 and are 4-2 on the season.

Jemison’s girls (4-4) had won four consecutive matches before a 9-0 loss to Thompson.

By James Dubuisson | Special to the Advertiser

The Jemison Panthers bounced back from Tuesday’s loss to Thorsby by defeating Maplesville, 12-2, in the first of two games played in the Chilton County Baseball Tournament on Thursday.

After not recording a hit in Tuesday’s loss, the Panthers on Thursday scored four runs in the top of the first inning off of three singles, an error, a walk and a hit batsman.

Jackson Mims hit a two-run home run for JHS in the second inning to extend the lead to 6-0.

There were three runs added to the Panthers’ lead in the third, two of which came off of a double by Mims.

The Panthers held a 9-0 lead heading into the fifth inning after a scoreless fourth. JHS scored two runs in the fifth before Mims stepped up to plate for his fourth and final at-bat. Mims proceeded to hit his second home run of the day and put the Panthers up 12-0.

The Red Devils got on the board in the bottom of the fifth with two runs. One run came off of a fielders’ choice where the batter was thrown out at first base while a run scored from third. MHS was able to load the bases and score another run off a hit by pitch.

The Panthers were able to stop another run from scoring in the inning, which allowed for the 10-run rule to come into effect.

Nick Campbell was the winning pitcher and threw four scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and one walk.

JHS coach Jason Easterling said the most important part of this game was the offense.

“Coming off of the no-hitter, it was great to come back and hit the ball,” Easterling said.

Mims went 4-for-4 at the plate with two home runs and a double. He drove in five runs and scored three runs.

On Friday at 7 p.m., JHS will play the winner of the Isabella/Verbena game, which was also played on Thursday but ended too late to be included in this report.

MHS was eliminated with the loss.

Chilton County plays Thorsby at 4:30 p.m. Friday.

By Robert Hudson | The Selma Times-Journal

In a game that went long even by Major League Baseball standards, the No. 4 Thorsby Rebels came out on top, edging the Dallas County Hornets 6-3 in 11 innings on Wednesday at Earl Griffin Baseball field in Plantersville.

With the game tied 3-3 in the top of the 11th, Thorsby’s Matt Morgan hit a single that scored a runner from third, loaded the bases and gave the Rebels (11-2, ranked No. 4 in Class 2A) a 4-3 lead.

Thorsby’s Jason Price got a hit that proved to be the difference in the game when he hit the ball in the infield, and the Hornets were able to get the runner out at home, but overthrew the first basemen in an attempt to get a double play that would have ended the inning.

The mistake scored two runners for the Rebels and made the score 6-3, where it would stand for the rest of the game.

The score stood at 1-1 in the bottom of the third, when Dallas County’s Justin Moreland tripled and scored teammate Kevin Simmons from second base to give the Hornets a 2-1 lead.

Dallas County’s Blanton Strickland brought Moreland home with a single to push the Hornets’ lead to 3-1.

The Rebels answered back when J.R. Posey hit a sac fly that scored a runner from third and made it a 3-2 game in the top of the fifth inning.

Morgan got a hit that went by the third baseman’s glove and along the left field line, which resulted in a double and scored a run that tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the fifth.

The Hornets twice got out of jams and extended the game.

The first came in the top of the sixth with bases loaded, when Hornets’ pitcher D.J. Stiles struck out two straight batters followed by Ricky Smith making a diving catch in right field to end the inning.

The Second time came in the top of the eighth inning with runners on first and second, when Strickland, pitching in relief for the Hornets, got consecutive batters to fly out including one that resulted in a diving catch by Troy Tolbert to end the inning for Dallas County (14-2).

From Staff Reports

Thorsby joined Chilton County as the only two unbeaten teams remaining in the county baseball tournament with a 16-1, five-inning win over Verbena on Tuesday.

The Rebels and CCHS will meet at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Clanton’s Jack Hayes Field. The double-elimination tournament will last through Saturday.

Thursday will be an elimination day with four teams with one loss fighting to stay alive. Jemison and Maplesville will play at 4:30 p.m., and Isabella and Verbena will follow at 7 p.m.

Bo Hoffman was the winning pitcher Tuesday. He struck out eight batters while allowing one walk and two hits in three innings. Hoffman allowed Verbena’s only run, but it was unearned.

Hoffman helped his cause with a three-run home run in the second inning.

Parker Bryan went 4-for-4 at the plate with a walk, three runs scored, two runs batted in and two stolen bases.

Jason Price was 3-for-4 with three doubles, one run scored and three RBI.

Cody Scott relieved Hoffman in the fourth inning. He didn’t allow a run and struck out two batters.

From Staff Reports

Jemison won a softball tournament held at Verbena over the weekend.

The Panthers defeated Wadley in the champsionship game, and Verbena finished third.

In the opening round, played on March 9, Verbena defeated Dallas County behind the performance of pitcher Chanin Hancock. Also that day, Maplesville defeated Wadley, 10-0; and Jemsion defeated Isabella, 11-0.

The next day, Dallas County beat Maplesville, 10-3; Jemison beat Verbena, 9-3; and Isabella beat Wadley, 10-0.

These games seeded a single-elimination tournament, which ended about 11:30 p.m. that night with JHS as champion.

“The tournament was something that brought a lot of people out to the school,” VHS coach Nicole Ivey said.