Dadeville softball team wins one, loses two at state

By Dusty Harper (Contact) | Dadeville Record

Originally published 11:08 p.m., May 20, 2009
Updated 11:08 p.m., May 20, 2009

The late innings were not kind to the Dadeville softball team in this weekend’s Class 3A state tournament at Lagoon Park.

After the Lady Tigers allowed seven runs in the fifth inning to Hamilton in the opening game of the tournament, costing them a 3-0 advantage, Straughn scored twice in the bottom of the sixth to take a one-run lead and defeat Dadeville 4-3 in an elimination game Saturday morning.

The Lady Tigers finished 1-2 for the weekend and 24-20 on the season.

“I’m tremendously proud of the girls,” said head coach Kasey Smith.”I couldn’t have asked them for any more. They fought to the very end and did all season. Several times they were behind and you would think they couldn’t pull it out, but they clawed back in games and proved you wrong. It was a good season.”

Straughn, who eventually lost to West Morgan in the championship game, broke a scoreless tie with two fourth-inning runs, only to see Dadeville surge ahead 3-2.

Following two runs (by Andrea White and Nicole Price) in the fifth inning, Reba Hawkins slid home after a Shae Heard sacrifice fly to center, jarring the ball loose and giving her team a one-run lead.

However, Straughn answered with two runs in the bottom of the sixth that proved to be the difference. Tori Bracewell scored on a passed ball to tie things up, and Kelli Wilcox delivered the game-winning hit a few pitches later.

Straughn had six hits, compared to four for Dadeville. Hawkins, Iranecia Moss, Andrea White and Rae Williams had those for the Lady Tigers. Devin Hooks had an RBI.

The loss concludes a very successful first season for Smith. Her initial year on the job included an area championship and a runner-up finish in the South Central Regional, in addition to the trip to the state tournament.

Smith has set the bar high for her remaining years.

“I guess I have to do this every year,” Smith joked. “I’ve thought about what I did and didn’t do during the year. There are probably some things I would do differently, but I feel like I learned some things to help us be better prepared for the end of the season next year.”

Smith hopes her young team, which featured a starting line-up of all underclassmen, learned a lot from consecutive weekends in Montgomery.

“(If Dadeville gets this far again) The girls shouldn’t be as nervous and should have a better idea of what goes on,” Smith said. “They should understand the crowd and the atmosphere next time.

“The girls never did anything but what I asked them,” Smith said. “I’m super proud. It’s not always about skill — it’s about wanting to. And I think we showed some of that this year.”

---

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE THIS STORY?

---