By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor
MOODY – Moody Head Coach Becky Seymour is in her ninth year at the helm for the Lady Blue Devils and success is not foreign to her nor her team. In her tenure, the Blue Devils have reached the final four twice, the elite eight twice, won the area championship 3 times and finds itself in position to grab that elusive blue map in 2023.
2023 Moody Blue Devils Softball team makes it to the state tournament.
Photo by: Nick Rutledge
On Thursday and Friday, Moody found themselves in an uphill battle to get to this point, after losing their first game of the tournament to the Scottsboro Wildcats 7-1. After that kind of loss, Moody had to turn around and play another game to stay alive and keep their state playoff hopes alive by winning the losers bracket and getting that second spot out of the region.
The second game was against the Lincoln Golden Bears. In this one, the Blue Devils knew they had to win and that is precisely what they did. Lincoln took the early lead after scoring 3 runs in the first two innings while holding Moody scoreless. Moody’s bats woke up in the third as they got a run across the plate and then knocked in 3 more in the fourth. The fifth was scoreless, but the Blue Devils were not finished. In the sixth, they put up another 3 runs and then they scored 4 more in the seventh to blow out the Golden Bears by a score of 11-4. After this one, they had the opportunity to regroup for the second day of action, where they would need to win 3 more games including a rematch from the area tournament against rival Saint Clair County. In game two, Bella Turley got the win, pitching all seven innings and allowing 4 runs on 7 hits with a strikeout. Libby Higgins led from the plate, going 2 of 4 and driving in 4 RBI, followed by Taylor Rogers who was 2 of 5 with 3 RBI.
Friday morning started with that rivalry game and the outcome showed that Moody was out for revenge against the Saints. Saint Clair scored 3 in the top of the first, but Moody answered with 11 runs in the first inning. That would have been enough to seal it, as the Saints only managed 2 more runs during the game, but Moody would pour it on, scoring 3 in the second and 3 more in the fourth to make it 17-5 and keep their hopes of a state tournament berth alive. The Saints’ season would end, despite overcoming the obstacle of being one of the youngest teams around and not winning the area for 10 years. Turley got the win against Saint Clair, pitching 5 innings, allowing 5 runs on 4 hits and striking out one. At the plate, a host of Blue Devils had multiple RBI, led by Kendall Trimm and Alex Harvard with 3 each and Taylor Rogers and Libby Higgins with 2 each.
The next opponent would be the Sardis Lions and this one would be an absolute dog fight. The first three innings would be a defensive struggle between the two as no one would be able to score. Sardis would open it up in the fourth, scoring 7 runs in the inning to put Moody down 7-0. Moody would get a run in the bottom of the fourth and then get 6 more in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game at 7. Neither team could find home plate in the sixth and, after holding Sardis scoreless in the seventh, Moody’s Emma Kile would hit a single to center field that would drive home Taylor Rogers and keep her team alive in the playoff.
Game three for the day would not be near as dramatic as the second one, as Moody would handle the Alexandria Valley Cubs to punch their ticket to state. Moody opened the game by scoring 2 quick runs in the first. Alexandria would answer with one run in the second before a scoreless third. Moody would get 5 runs across the plate in the fourth and another in the sixth to seal the 8-1 victory and propel them into the elite 8 of Alabama 5A Softball.
Coach Seymour had the following to say regarding her team’s entry into the state tournament, “I am so excited for the girls to have the opportunity to go back to the state tournament. They have worked so hard all year long. Of course we have had our ups and downs as any team has, but the girls are going into this with confidence and pride in who they play for. That is a big part of the battle – getting them to play for something bigger. No matter what happens in the coming days, I am so blessed and honored to be representing our school with this team at the state tournament. They have earned every win this season and their focus, positive attitude, and determination to succeed is second to none. We will continue to work toward achieving the goals we set in August and enjoy every minute of the work!”
The Blue Devils will take on Saint Paul’s Episcopal on Wednesday in the first round of the playoffs at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama at 9:00 am.
