Jags heading to state after dominating regional

TUSCALOOSA – If you looked at the score lines, you might think that the Spain Park High School softball team had a cakewalk through the Class 7A North Central Regional.

If you have seen any of the other three teams that were in that regional, you would know that was not the case.

The Jags took care of business at Bowers Park last Thursday and Friday, shutting out both opponents they faced, to claim Regional Qualifier 1. They knocked off Tuscaloosa County, 8-0, on Thursday evening before run-ruling Oak Mountain, 10-0, on Friday.

“It’s surreal right now,” coach CJ Hawkins said after the win. “We’re just enjoying this right now, because those teams can hit and play defense and they give everybody nightmares – that’s why they’re here in regionals.”

Oak Mountain gave the Jags fits this season, as the two teams split their regular season contests against one another before Spain Park won convincingly twice in the area tournament. Tuscaloosa County run-ruled the Jags earlier in the season as well, giving them one of only seven losses. Another one of those losses came from the fourth team in the regional, Vestavia Hills.

Against Tuscaloosa County, Spain Park notched five runs in the fourth, with RBI extra-base hits from Caroline Parker, Mary Kate Teague and Taylor Harrington, whose triple cleared the bases to make it 5-0. Parker drove in another run in the sixth to extend the lead to 8-0, as the Jags cruised to victory.

In the win over Oak Mountain, Spain Park started the scoring an inning earlier and ended things in the fifth. In the third, Mary Katherine Tedder began the scoring with an RBI single, followed by Parker’s two-run single to make it 3-0.

The Jags added five more runs in the fourth on a Tedder bases-loaded walk and three straight run-scoring hits by Jenna Olszewski, Parker and Bailey Bowers. Back-to-back RBI hits by Maddie Majors and Julianna Cross in the fifth made the score 10-0, ending the contest.

Between the two games, eighth-grade pitcher Annabelle Widra threw 12 shutout innings, allowing just five hits, walking one and striking out 12 batters.

“Everybody is doing what they’re supposed to be doing and they’re executing,” Hawkins said. “We’re zoned in on the task at hand. When we have the task at hand, we’re on point and we’ve been pretty tough to beat all year.”

Now Spain Park heads to the state tournament, where it opens play against Auburn on Thursday at 9 a.m. at Lagoon Park in Montgomery. The Jags were on the same stage a year ago, advancing all the way to the final before falling to Sparkman.

Hawkins said, “It’s fueled this group since May 20, 2016. That’s all they’ve talked about, was us getting a chance to be in that final game. It’s going to be a tough battle.”

But the Jags may be better equipped to do so this time around. They played Sparkman to a tight 2-1 loss in the Cullman Tournament a few weeks ago, but led 1-0 for much of the contest.

“These kids love each other and they’ll go anywhere for them,” Hawkins said. “They’re a special group.”