AHSAA SOFTBALL: Billingsley stays alive in Class 1A Central Regional
Billingsley’s Ja'kayla Harris rounds third base and scores to give the Bears a 3-1 lead against Notasulga on Tuesday in the Class 1A Central Regional at Lagoon Park. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
It’s been 10 years since the Billingsley Bears made their last trip to the state tournament.
The Bears went to the Alabama High School Athletic Association state softball tournament in 2014 and 2015, then reached the finals of the 2016 Class 1A state tournament before Brantley won twice to grab the crown.
Since then, there have been seven trips to the regionals, but the Bears usually don’t stay long.
After beating Notasulga 16-0 in the Central Regional opener at Lagoon Park, Billingsley jumped on Fayetteville early and held a six-run lead in the final inning, only to suffer a devastating 13-12 loss to the Wolves that may prove fatal to the Bears’ state tournament hopes.
“It was just a mental mistake, not knowing where the runners were, not knowing how many outs there was,” Billingsley coach Jason Fisher said. “Make the throw to first, it would have been the ballgame and we would have been moving on, undefeated in day one
“Our goal at the beginning of the season wasn’t to make it to state, it was to play day two. Playing back-to-back years in regionals has been a while. They haven’t made it to day two. The bittersweet part is …. we have to win three games now instead of just one.”
Billingsley scored 18 runs in the first inning on Tuesday -- 10 against Notasulga and eight against Fayetteville -- but struggled to put runs on the board after the first inning.
“The first game, we had a game plan knowing what we would face against Notasulga,” Fisher said. “Then we had a very long delay from finishing that game. We had mental lapses because we were running out of gas, but I give credit to Fayetteville. The one thing I’m taking away from this is this team (Fayetteville) is scrappy and has competed all year and we’ve been wishy washy, but we just competed with a team that has been competitive all year the whole game.”
In the regional opener, Billingsley jumped on Notasulga for 10 runs in the first inning as Ja’kayla Harris doubled in a run, Kinsley Cotton singled in a run, Taliyah Moore had a two-run single, Addyson Raines had a two-run triple and Kaliya McCary and Madi DeRamus drew bases-loaded walks to force in runs.
DeRamus pitched a no hitter, striking out seven of the nine batters she faced.
In the game against Fayetteville, McCary pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first, then Billingsley drove in eight runs to take an 8-1 lead. Moore had an inside-the-park home run, Shelby Boice doubled over the center fielder’s head to drive in two runs, Ella Fisher drew a bases-loaded walk, Moore singled in a run and Raines doubled in two more.
In the end, it wasn’t enough as the Wolves scored seven runs in the top of the seventh to hand the Bears a stunning setback.
“There are things me and my coaches were talking about, maybe charging a ball here or just fundamental things we backed off of because we were up,” Fisher said. “Give Fayetteville credit, they did what they were supposed to do.”
Billingsley (11-19) will be back in action in the double-elimination tournament on Wednesday afternoon against Keith, needing three wins to reach the state tournament. Fayetteville and Maplesville will play on Wednesday at 12:15 p.m., with the winner earning a berth in the state tournament.