By Erik Harris
CLAY – The Pinson Valley softball team took two games from host Clay-Chalkville to win the Class 6A, Area 12 Tournament on Wednesday.
A come-from-behind 8-7 victory was followed by a 6-2 decision to give the Indians its first area crown in some time. Both Pinson Valley and the Cougars will qualify for the regional tournament in Tuscaloosa starting next Thursday.
“It feels great,” said Pinson Valley pitcher Lauren Keplenger on her team’s area title. “It’s been a while. I don’t think it’s ever happened, so it’s definitely big.”
Winners bracket game: Pinson Valley 8, Clay-Chalkville 7
With Caitlin Lessley cruising on the rubber with a 6-2 lead heading into the top-half of the seventh inning, Clay-Chalkville seemed to have an easy win on Day 2 of the Area 12 Tournament, but that was before Pinson Valley’s Graci Graves went to the dish.
Graves didn’t spare one pitch in her final at-bat of the game, stroking a fastball past the left-centerfield wall for a grand slam that gave her team its first advantage of the afternoon at 7-6.
“I was just trying to get a base hit,” Graves said. “It felt good because I was struggling all night and I was like, ‘that was my first grand slam in high school.’”
That game-saving swing came moments after Kirbi Tuck poked an RBI-single through the middle of the Cougars’ defense, pulling the visitors to within three.
Despite the major shift of momentum, Clay-Chalkville wouldn’t go quietly. Third baseman Madison Cole got the Cougar-half of the seventh started with a solo blast to dead center.
Kaitlyn Berry followed Cole by going back to centerfield for a two-bagger that hopped into the fence, but that was all Keplinger would allow. She killed the rally with a pop out, ground out and lineout to leave the tying run on second base.
For Clay-Chalkville, Lessley was unhittable for most of the game. The righty retired the first 12 batters she faced, but hit some trouble in the fifth inning and could never recover.
At that point, Lessley was working with a 3-0 advantage thanks to RBIs from Madison Sanders and Jewel Mealing.
Anna Clay, Alexis Griffin and Cole also drove in runs for the Cougars.
Finals: Pinson Valley 6, Clay-Chalkville 2
The home team got the tournament nightcap off to a strong start, loading the bases in the top of the third and sending two runners across to claim a 2-0 lead. But it was all Pinson Valley from that point forward.
Shortstop Destinee Cole got the Indians’ offense started with a single to open the bottom of the fourth. That hit sparked a three-run inning to give the Tribe a 3-2 lead that only grew.
An error off the bat of Janna Trimm sent the first Pinson Valley run across. Tuck tied the contest on the next at-bat with a run-scoring triple to the right field wall. The centerfielder then reached home on a passed ball for the go-ahead run.
Clay-Chalkville would bounce back to create a bases-loaded opportunity in the top-half of the fourth, but Keplinger got herself out of the jam with an Anna Clay groundout. That represented three of the ten runners Keplinger stranded on base.
“It goes back to my team having my back and being behind me,” said Keplinger. “We’ve been struggling with having energy in the dugout, so I felt like my team was behind me for sure tonight. Everybody was up and it just felt great.”
Keplinger got some major insurance to work with when her offense plated three more with its next plate appearance. She helped her own cause by scorching a 2-RBI liner past the right fielder to build the lead to three. Hana Presley then stepped to the plate and scored Savannah Mayes with a sacrifice fly to end the scoring.
The Cougars did threaten with its final opportunity, but ended the game with consecutive groundouts with two runners aboard.