The season ended Saturday for the Thorsby softball team as it lost twice in the Class 2A South Central Regional softball tournament.

The Rebels fell to Choctaw County, 14-0, in the first game of the day on Friday, but rebounded to top Reeltown, 14-4, in an elimination game.

THS was knocked out of the playoffs with a 10-0 loss to Leroy in a game early Saturday.

By Stephen Dawkins | Assistant Managing Editor

Host Thorsby staved off elimination in three consecutive games Thursday to win its softball area tournament.

Billingsley had won only two games all season—both coming over the same opponent, Autaugaville—but defeated both Isabella (7-2) and Thorsby (6-5) in its first two tournament games.

THS stayed alive by defeating Isabella, 13-3, but still needed two straight wins over Billingsley to win the tournament.

The Rebels won them 6-4 and 6-3, the second game behind the complete game performance of pitcher Keela Lucas, who had never before pitched a complete varsity game.

“We had our heads down at first [after losing to Billingsley], but we knew what we had to do,” Thorsby assistant coach Holly Cleveland Matson said. “We worked good as a team today.”

Both Thorsby and Billingsley will advance to the regional tournament May 13-14 at Troy University.

BHS jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third inning of the championship game on a double by Payton Wallace that scored Kim Lawrence and Hannah Horton.

Thorsby struck in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Josie Adams—who hit two home runs on the day—led off with a single and advanced when Haley McKinnon reached base on an error and Savannah Bice singled.

Both Adams and McKinnon—Thorsby’s lone senior playing in her final home game—scored on wild pitches.

Haley Barnett hit into a fielder’s choice and scored the third run of the inning on a sacrifice bunt by Lucas.

Taylor McManus—Thorsby’s usual pitcher who pitched all of her team’s first three tournament games—followed Lucas with a single to score Kelly Nord, and McManus scored herself on a Christian Niece single.

Billingsley cut into the lead in the top of the fifth when a groundout by Summer Gaither plated Anna Asbury, who had led off with a single.

But Thorsby got the run back in the sixth when McManus scored on a wild pitch, and Lucas closed it out.

Gaither pitched all of Billingsley’s tournament games. In the last one, she struck out four in six innings.

Lucas scattered 11 hits and one walk over seven innings, striking out five.

By Stephen Dawkins | Assistant Managing Editor

Thorsby ended its regular season—and gained momentum for its area tournament—with a 10-5 win at Verbena on Thursday.

The visiting Rebels scored two runs in the top of the first inning as Taylor McManus led off with a single, and Emily Spain followed with a double.

Halie McKinnon brought McManus home with an out, and Josie Adams came through with a two-out single to score Spain.

It was a sign of things to come for Adams, who went 3-for-3 on the day with a walk, two doubles, two runs batted in and a run scored.

Host Verbena responded with one run in the bottom half of the inning when Mattie Cleckler led off with a triple and scored on an out.

It was also a sign of things to come for Cleckler, who went 4-for-4 with a run and an RBI.

Thorsby pushed another run across the plate in the fourth inning—when Keela Lucas reached base on an error and scored on an out—but the fifth inning was particularly harmful to the Red Devils as THS scored three runs on three hits and four errors.

The visitors stretched their lead to 7-1 in the sixth when Christian Niece reached base on an infield hit and scored on an Adams double.

But VHS clawed their way back into the game in the bottom of the sixth, as the first two batters of the inning reached base via Thorsby errors. After an RBI single, two more Devils took walks.

Cleckler beat out a throw to bring home her team’s fourth run of the inning, but Thorsby escaped the jam when Spain, the catcher, corralled a wild pitch and tagged a runner sliding into home for the third out.

The Rebels put the game away in the top of the seventh, as Savannah Bice, McManus and Spain recorded consecutive singles, and all three scored.

McManus was the winning pitcher; Ashlie Shiers started in the circle for Verbena.

By Stephen Dawkins | Assistant Managing Editor

Tuesday’s softball game between Jemison and Thorsby was delayed about 30 minutes as the pitcher’s rubber came loose and a new one had to be found and installed.

The pitchers—Jemison’s Tiffany Guin and Thorsby’s Taylor McManus—seemed to like the altered mound just fine.

In a 4-2 Jemison win, Guin and McManus combined to strike out 15 batters and stifle the opposing offenses until visiting JHS struck for three runs in the top of the sixth inning.

Emily Patterson doubled with one out in the frame, and then Morgan Lucas took a walk and Lauren Crosby reached base on an error that also allowed Patterson to score.

Shelby Griffin then came through with a clutch hit to make the score 4-1.

Jemison had scored its first run of the game off McManus just one inning earlier, when Hannah Smith looped a fly ball in between Thorsby’s third baseman and left fielder to score Griffin.

Until then, it looked like McManus might make a single run hold up.

Thorsby struck first, in the bottom of the second inning.

Josie Adams singled to lead off the frame and scored later on a groundout by Savannah Bice.

The Rebels were quiet the rest of the game until their last at-bat.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Bice, Destiny Davis and McManus loaded the bases with one out.

Guin recorded her 11th strikeout of the game before Halie McKinnon kept Thorsby’s hopes alive with a run-scoring hit, but Guin’s 12th punchout ended the game.

By Stephen Dawkins | Assistant Managing Editor

Thorsby’s softball team won its season opener, 16-5 in five innings, on Thursday over visiting Fayetteville.

Savannah Bice got the Rebels offense rolling in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run home run.

The score was 10-1 after that frame, but Fayetteville scored three runs in the top of the second and two more in the top of the fifth. The hosts, however, were still able to end the game early.

Bice went 2-for-3 with three runs batted in and three runs scored.

Christian Niece had three hits in as many at-bats with a double, two RBI and one run.

Halie McKinnon was 2-for-3 with a walk and three runs scored, and Sharonda Cooper also scored three runs.

Josie Adams started the game on the mound, and Katie Barnett came on in relief with one out in the second inning.

Barnett allowed just three hits and one run in 2 2/3 innings.

By Stephen Dawkins | Assistant Managing Editor

When Chilton County’s softball team visits Thorsby on March 10, the game will feel both familiar and strange at the same time.

Familiar because the two coaches, sisters Kim Payton and Krisi Parrish, grew up together around the game. Strange because the pair will be in opposing dugouts.

Still, it’s not exactly sister versus sister.

“We’re not really competing against each other,” Krisi Parrish said. “I want her team to do well.”

The sisters played league softball together—Kim was the shortstop, and Krisi played second base—and this season will have a chance to get reacquainted on the softball diamond.

Parrish, the younger sister by five years, is the longer tenured coach. She’s entering her fifth season at CCHS.

Season 4 included The Clanton Advertiser’s Coach of the Year honor as the Tigers fell one game shy of the Class 5A state tournament.

All but one starter returns from that squad, so much is expected in 2011.

Payton, meanwhile, is Thorsby’s third coach in as many seasons, following Rachel Argent and Nicole Hilyer.

Payton coached the team in 1999, but at that time the school competed in slow pitch softball.

Helping Payton and the Rebels get up to speed has been assistant coach Holly Cleveland, who started at THS until 2005.

Cleveland was named an all-state pitcher and led the Rebels to five consecutive berths in the state tournament before graduating.

If only there was such an accomplished pitcher on the roster. Last year’s main hurler, Lindsay Pease, was lost to graduation, as were fellow seniors Heather Day (catcher), Ashlin Hilyer (shortstop) and Tiffany Morgan (pitcher).

If anyone can plug the holes, Payton should be able to. She has Cleveland and Parrish to lean on, of course, but she has experience herself.

“I’ve been around it all my life. I like the games, the atmosphere,” Payton said and added that she enjoys being around the players. “They all get out there and hustle—that’s a big part of it.”

By Ben Flanagan

Thorsby High School senior Lindsay Pease is a long way from home. A lot of miles separates Alabama and Wisconsin.

Actually, Pease has come to call Thorsby home. She was born in Waukesha but moved at 3 years old.

Either way, the move over to Jacksonville, Ala., shouldn’t be too tough. She’ll enroll at Jacksonville State University this fall to study secondary education mathematics to become a high school math teacher.

Her own math teacher inspired her to seek a similar career path. High school students don’t typically want to become math teachers while still in high school.

But maybe valedictorians do.

Pease learned she would walk away from THS with that distinction late last semester. Needless to say, she was thrilled by the honor, which she considers her greatest academic achievement so far.

“I was extremely excited,” Pease said. “I always dreamed about being valedictorian, and I was so glad I accomplished it.”

She accomplished much more on top of that feat. Pease was a member of the National Honor Society, the varsity softball team, BETA Club, FCCLA, Spanish Club. She also served as the editor of the school yearbook.

Her time spent working on the annual stands as her favorite collective high school memory.

“That’s what my whole senior year revolved around,” she said. “It was everything I hoped it would be. We’ve gotten a lot of great compliments, some people saying it’s the best we’ve ever had so far.”

She’ll have to look back on the yearbook to relive those fond memories as she moves on to that next step she so desires to take. Pease is ready for bigger and better things, though she will never lose sight of where she came from.

“I have a lot of great memories,” she said. “There are a lot of friends that I’m going to miss. Thorsby High School was a great school to go to.”

Pease said she will always cherish learning math and English under Kelly Crawford and Jeanette Williams, respectively. Pease’s parents are Jeff and Shari Pease. She has one sister, Jessica.

By Stephen Dawkins

Jemison was an underdog in the Chilton County Softball Tournament, but coach Leighsa Robinson knew her team was close to turning its season around.
The Panthers had a 1-12 record, hadn’t won a county championship since 2005, and had to deal with a team—Maplesville—that made the state tournament last year and is ranked No. 9 in Class 1A this year and the defending county champion—rival Chilton County.
Surprising everyone except perhaps Robinson, tournament host Jemison won four straight games—including two one-run decisions against CCHS on March 27—to claim the county championship.
“I knew we had it in us,” Robinson said after the final out had been made in a 2-1 win. “We’ve been playing good the past couple of weeks—one inning always snags us.”
With the Panthers down 1-0, Shelby Lopez doubled with one out in the fifth inning. After a sacrifice for the second out, Tabatha Cork drove Lopez home on a hit that glanced just off the glove of leaping Chilton first baseman Lauren Stewart.
Tiffany Guin doubled to plate Cork and give Jemison a 2-1 lead it wouldn’t surrender, but the possibility of that one inning that would doom Jemison always loomed.
CCHS got the game tying run to third base with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning and had runners on first and second with no outs in the sixth. That’s when Lindsey Parrish hit a hard line drive right at Jemison shortstop Lopez, who caught the ball and was able to get out the runner leaning too far off second base and basically end the threat.
The seventh inning, meanwhile, was uneventful—until the celebration began.
“My group of seniors was hungry for this,” Robinson said about a class that includes Brandi Baker, Cork, Samantha Glass, Codi Mims, Amber Simmons and Dallis Vanderslice. “This tournament just proves the leadership I have on this team.”
Chilton scored its run in the bottom of the second inning when Macee Thomas singled with two outs to score Brooke Lewis, but Guin, the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, held the Tigers in check the rest of game, allowing only five hits.
In fact, Guin pitched all 28 innings the Panthers were on the field in the tournament and allowed only seven runs. She was on the mound when Jemison topped CCHS, 3-2, earlier in the day. Because of that result, CCHS would have had to beat Jemison twice to win the tournament.
“We wanted to win really bad,” said Guin, a sophomore. “I just tried to get as many three-up, three-downs as possible. I knew I had a great defense behind me.”
Guin also pitched in wins over Maplesville (8-3) and Isabella (4-1) on March 26.
In Game 1, Mims and Cork hit home runs in the first and second innings versus Maplesville.
In Game 3 of the tournament, Isabella’s pitching held the Jemison Panthers in check for most of the game, but the Panthers were quick around the bases from the first inning. Lopez and Tanya Liveoak both scored on balls that got away from the Isabella catcher, and Vanderslice sent home two runs on a single.
Guin struck out eight Isabella batters.
Thorsby, meanwhile, went 1-2 in tournament play.
The Rebels defeated Verbena, 3-1, on Friday but lost to CCHS, 16-1, later in the day.
In the sixth inning of Game 2 of the tournament, Ashlin Hilyer, Kelly Nord and Lindsay Pease each had RBI for Thorsby, and Pease struck out 10 batters.
Sharonda Cooper scored Thorsby’s only run against CCHS.
The Rebels were knocked out the tournament by a 10-5 loss to Maplesville on Saturday.

Scott Mims contributed to this report.

By Stephen Dawkins

This week marks the return of one of my personal favorite sports events: the Chilton County softball tournament.
And, believe it or not, this year’s tournament might be even better than in the past.
While the county baseball tournament the past couple of years has been shortened from a weeklong, double elimination event to a single-elimination, two-day tournament, the softball tournament this season is taking the opposite approach.
In the past, the softball tournament has been played over two days using a standard bracket. This year, the tournament will be stretched over three days, with the first day being pool play and the next two days a single elimination tournament.
Pool play, which will determine seeding for the bracket portion, will be played at two different fields at Thorsby’s Sam Bentley Park. The next two days’ games will be played at Jemison High School, the tournament host.
The new format will guarantee each team three games instead of two. It will also guarantee fans more softball to watch.
The tournament should be competitive once again, with every county team entering the tournament with a legitimate chance to win.
I think that increasing the number of games played will only increase the chances upsets because teams in some cases will be forced to throw their second—or even their third—pitcher instead of relying on one pitcher to make it through the tournament.
Maplesville will likely come into the weekend as a top 10 team, and Thorsby is only a couple of years removed from being ranked themselves. Still, Chilton County, the county’s largest school, has won two out of the last three tournaments.
The fun starts Thursday, and I encourage everyone to attend. You won’t be disappointed.

– Dawkins is the assistant managing editor for The North Chilton Advertiser.

By Stephen Dawkins

Thorsby on Tuesday hit like a team in the midst of a playoff run instead of one playing its first game of the season.
The Rebels softball team pounded out six extra-base hits and 14 hits overall in a 15-5, five-inning win over visiting Verbena, who was also playing its season opener.
Ashlin Hilyer, Heather Day and Katie Barnett recorded three hits each.
Hilyer had two doubles, four RBI and four runs scored. Day recorded one double, four RBI and one run scored; and Barnett contributed a double, a triple, two RBI and one run.
Tiffany Morgan earned the win. She allowed five runs on seven hits and one walk over five innings while striking out nine Red Devils.
Haley Kelley and Chanin Hancock both doubled for Verbena. Kelley walked once, and Hancock, who suffered the loss on the mound, drove in a run.
Verbena leadoff batter Mattie Cleckler went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and one RBI.
Ashlie Shiers drove in two runs.
Thorsby took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but Verbena scored three runs in the top of the third.
The hosts answered with five runs—two on a Barnett triple—in the bottom half of the frame and had the lead for good.