FCA SOFTBALL: Billingsley outlasts Trinity in Alex Wilcox Tourney
Billingsley pitcher Leah Swanner picked up a win over Trinity in the FCA Alex Wilcox Memorial Tournament at Lagoon Park. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
After falling behind 12-10 in the seventh inning of Saturday’s game with Trinity, Billingsley coach Jason Fisher said he could see the competitive fire in his players’ eyes.
“Just the fact that we started believing in each other there at the end,” Fisher said. “Addyson Raines told the nine-hole hitter and the one-hole hitter if you get on, I’ll hit you in and that takes a lot for a freshman to say that. That meant a lot and it kind of brought us back together as a team.”
Raines did her part and Shelby Boice, the only senior starter for the Bears, delivered the win with a walk-off single to give the Bears a 13-12 win over the Wildcats in the Alex Wilcox FCA Softball Tournament at Lagoon Park Softball Complex.
“We did some good things, but we just didn’t make enough plays to win this game,” Trinity coach Stan Milton said. “We had a few girls out, so some girls had a chance to play that don’t usually get out there and that was a good thing.”
The Bears had the upper hand early, the Wildcats rallied with five runs in the fourth inning to grab the lead and both teams hurt themselves with fielding errors in a highly entertaining and competitive matchup,
For Trinity, the top of the lineup was productive as leadoff batter Marley Sharpless went 4 for 5 with three runs scored and two RBIs, including a triple and a double. Behind her in the batting order, Emma Rose Meldrum went 5 for 5 with a two-run home run, a pair of doubles, five runs scored and four RBIs.
The cleanup hitter was just as productive as Emory Harris went 4 for 4 with three RBIs, giving three batters eight of the 12 runs scored off of Billingsley starter Leah Swanner, who pitched a complete game and picked up the win.
“She’s probably one of our most consistent,” Fisher said. “She doesn’t let a lot rattle her. She just goes in and throws.”
Billingsley (6-11) probably had a little more production throughout the lineup, but the Bears’ offense was top heavy as well as leadoff batter Taliyah Moore went 2-for-2, drove in a run and scored five times, including the game winning run.
Raines went 4 for 5 with three runs scored and two RBIs, Kaliyah McCary went 2 for 3 with a pair of doubles and a pair of RBIs and cleanup hitter cleanup hitter Boice went 2 for 3 with a pair of RBIs against Sharpless, who took the loss after allowing 13 runs, five earned.
“I thought she did a good job,” Milton said. “They hit the ball and we didn’t make many plays in the field for her, but I feel like she did everything she could do to put us in a good spot to win this game.”
Trinity (4-2) broke a 10-10 tie in the seventh inning with a double from Meldrum and RBI singles by Kenzie McClelland and Harris for a 12-10 lead.
Billingsley came right back in the bottom half of the inning as Ella Fisher reached base on a one-out fielding error and scored on Swanner’s triple. Moore reached on an error, scoring Swanner to tie the game, Raines singled and McCary was intentionally walked to load the bases and set the stage for Boice’s game winner, giving the Bears their only win in three tournament games.
“Coming out (Friday) and competing with Brantley, normally a team in the state championship game and to lose by three, then coming out and playing Trinity, a team that’s pretty good and from a higher classification means a lot for a 1A school,” Fisher said. “Especially in a tournament like this, the cause for it with Alex Wilcox.”
For Trinity, which had played just three games entering the tournament, beating Russell County 7-5 and Luverne 9-4 helped ease the sting of Saturday’s loss.
“To be able to come out here and play good competition and to win two (on Friday) and then to compete and have a chance to win today, that’s all you can ask for,” Milton said. “I thought the girls competed, we just didn’t make enough plays today. But it’s a great opportunity for them to come out and support a great cause and get a lot of good softball in.
“And it’s good to play people you don’t usually play and see a different brand of softball. It’s good to see more than the teams we normally have on our schedule.”