Belgreen softball captures Class 2A Area 11 title
On Tuesday, the Belgreen High School varsity softball team (18-23-2) won its area tournament, clinching a spot in the upcoming AHSAA North Regional in Florence.
Class 2A Area 11, a three-team area consisting of Belgreen, Red Bay, and Sulligent, was taken by the Lady Bulldogs after they twice beat Sulligent (14-23) by a combined scored of 15-1. Red Bay (16-15) lost twice to Sulligent (by scores of 12-3 and 6-4) and was eliminated in the losers bracket, ending the Lady Tigers’ season.
Following his team’s area championship, Belgreen head coach Sander Tverberg praised his players for their performances and attitude.
“We’ve played a tough schedule and lost some close games against some really good teams this season—everything just hadn’t clicked for us. This weekend we pitched well and our bats came alive and we were able to put it all together,” Tverberg said. “The whole team bought into what we were preaching and believed. It was a fun weekend, fun time to be around the girls. They played well, played hard, and had a lot of energy.”
Belgreen’s first game of the tourney was played on Saturday, May 2 against Sulligent after SHS, beating Red Bay 12-3 in the opener, moved on to face the top-seeded Lady Bulldogs. BHS beat the Lady Blue Devils handedly, shutting them out 9-0 behind a superb one-hitter from pitcher Zoey Blaxton.
BHS opened up the scoring in the bottom of the second, making it a 2-0 game when Shaylyn Bryant’s two-run double to left field scored Marlie Terry and Charley Hogan. The Lady Bulldogs followed it up with another run in the third after Jemma Moore’s solo home run flew over the left field wall.
The final six runs for Belgreen all came in the fifth inning. Kendra Williams got things started with a one-out solo homer to center to make it 4-0. Later, with runners on second and third, a Sulligent error allowed one to score before Mackinley Hogan’s RBI single made it a 6-0 ballgame. Another two run-scoring singles right after that—one by Terry, the other a two-RBI single by Bryant—closed out the game’s scoring.
All the while, in the circle for BHS, Blaxton kept the Lady Blue Devils down. She pitched a complete game and struck out seven batters. The one hit Blaxton allowed came in the first at-bat of the game; she was nearly perfect after that, allowing just a further two bases on balls and one hit batter.
The result sent Sulligent down to the losers bracket where the Lady Blue Devils eliminated Red Bay 6-4.
Red Bay and Sulligent traded blows for the first three innings, but SHS was able to gain an advantage with a two-run sixth inning. RBHS’ Charley Lindley, despite allowing 14 hits, finished the game with eight strikeouts. At the plate, McKenna Young and Hadley Griffin led the way: Young was a perfect 3-for-3 in the leadoff spot with three runs scored and Griffin had a team-high two RBIs.
Sulligent victorious, the team was sent back up to face the Lady Bulldogs in the championship round on Monday afternoon. Belgreen needed just one win to clinch the area crown, and it did so with a 6-1 triumph.
Taking an initial 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a one-out, bases-loaded single by Caleigh Lawson, Belgreen tacked on one additional run in the third after a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch drawn by Blaxton.
Up 2-0, the remainder of the Lady Bulldogs’ damage was done in the fourth. Williams hit her second home run of the tournament, a two-run bomb to right field, to make it 4-1 before the on-deck Moore’s solo home run made it a 5-1 ballgame.
“Jemma and Kendra both had a great weekend at the plate,” Tverberg said.
The final run was scored a few plate appearances later by Kiera Smith after a fielder’s choice ground out by Hogan.
Once again, Blaxton took care of business in the circle for Belgreen, pitching another complete game. Blaxton gave up a few more hits in this appearance but still managed to hold Sulligent to one unearned run while striking out four batters.
Tverberg applauded the fans that showed up for their support as his team cruised to the tournament title.
“We appreciate all the support we had. We had a lot of fans there. A lot of the baseball guys showed up, Coach (Jonathan) Raper and his team, and that was a big boost for our girls. They got a lot of energy from them,” he said.
Up next, Belgreen will face Winston County in its opening game of the North Regional at the Florence Sportsplex. That matchup is scheduled for a 10:45 p.m. first pitch on Wednesday, May 13.
The Belgreen head coach said that as long as his team plays their game they way they’re capable of playing, he feels the Lady Bulldogs can make an impact in the postseason.
“I’ve told the girls this all season—and I believe they believe this—but if we just worry about ourselves and we play the way we can play, we don’t have to worry about anything else. If we do what we need to do then the outcome will happen, and I think they’ve bought into that,” Tverberg said.
“I really feel that when we’re playing well then we have a chance against anybody, it’s just a matter of continuing to believe in ourselves,” he added.