By Bobby Mathews, Sports Editor
ALBERTVILLE — Shades Valley’s softball season came to an end Tuesday with a pair of losses in the AHSAA 6A Regional tournament. The Mounties fell to Fort Payne 17-1 in the first game and 5-1 to Pell City to bow out of the tourney.
Shades Valley softball file photo.
Game 1: Fort Payne 17, Shades Valley 1
The Wildcats pounded the Mounties, ending the game after three innings by mercy-ruling Shades Valley 17-1.
Shades Valley got on the board in the bottom of the first inning, tying the game 1-1 when Ashlyn Barnett grounded to second base to score Haylee Knight and move Alyssa Butts to third and Trinity Collier to second base. That left the Mounties with two on and two outs, but they couldn’t take advantage of runners in scoring position.
Jenna Paxton went 1-for-2 from the plate, while Knight was also 1-for-2 with the RBI. Butts and Collier were also 1-for-2, but Shades Valley was stymied at the plate for most of the game.
Bethany Moran took the loss for the Mounties, pitching 1 2/3 innings and allowing 14 runs on 9 hits. Only three of those runs were earned. Moran walked five and struck out one. She gave way to Jenna Paxton in the second inning. Paxton allowed three runs on one hit over the course of 1 1/3 innings, issuing three walks.
Game 2: Pell City 5, Shades Valley 1
The Panthers put up five runs in the bottom of the second inning, and the Mounties couldn’t respond, scoring only one in the top of the fifth when Trinity Collier singled to left with one out to score Ashlyn Barnett and put Trinity Collier on second. The Mounties couldn’t push any more runs across the plate, though, and that capped the scoring for both teams.
Barnett was 1-for-3 on the day and scored, while Collier was 1-for-2 with an RBI. Jenna Paxton pitched 2 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on three hits with only one earned run. She walked six batters. Bethany Moran came on in relief, limiting the Panthers to three hits and no runs, walking two and striking out one.
