Jags reach state tournament for 4th straight year

A standard has been set within the Spain Park High School softball program.

They have won the area championship each of the last five years and have won at least 40 games the last four of those years.

The outgoing senior class had a great deal to do with raising the bar for the program even higher than it already was. 

Maddie Majors, Caroline Wooley, Caroline Kendrick, Kate Campbell and Bailey Bowers were part of a program that advanced to the state tournament all four years of their high school careers, finishing second (twice), third and fifth overall in the Class 7A tournament.

“It’s just a remarkable group of young ladies that are going to be greatly missed,” said Spain Park head coach C.J. Urse Hawkins, who recently completed her 12th season with the Jags. 

Some of that group got playing time with the varsity team as early as seventh grade, meaning the group has been a part of 253 wins over the last six seasons. A few of them will continue to play in college as well, with Majors heading to Auburn and Kendrick going to play at Hofstra University in New York. Wooley has accepted an offer to play at Gulf Coast Community College..

“It’s a testament to them to stay with something that long,” Hawkins said. “Their genuine love for their teammates was evident and played a big part in the team’s success. They’ve brought a lot of positive coverage to our sport and our school.”

There were plenty of highlights throughout the 2019 season for a Jags team that finished with a 41-8 record, the fewest losses for a Spain Park team in program history.

Spain Park won its first six games of the season and finished as the runner-up in the Sidney Cooper Invitational, hosted by Central-Phenix City, in February. After the loss in the final of that tournament, the Jags won 16 straight games to improve to 22-1 on the year. Included in that streak was an eight-game run through Oxford’s tournament. 

The team also had the opportunity to play in a pair of college stadiums during the regular season and made the most of both opportunities. The Jags defeated Gardendale 11-4 at UAB on March 5 and routed Tuscaloosa County 15-0 at the University of Alabama on April 22.

“It was a fun experience to have, playing on a big field,” Majors said following the game at Alabama’s Rhoads Stadium, where the SEC Tournament is set to be held next spring.

The Jags won Class 7A, Area 6 with a 5-1 record and won the area tournament with wins over Mountain Brook and Hewitt-Trussville (twice) on May 2.

At the West Central Regional tournament, the Jags beat Oak Mountain at Bowers Park on May 9, before rain delayed the conclusion of the regional tournament until May 13, with a site change to the University of Montevallo. That Monday, the Jags sealed their state berth with a 12-2 win over Thompson.

At the state tournament in Montgomery, Spain Park began things with a 4-2 win over Baker, before losses to Auburn (5-4) and Hewitt-Trussville (12-9) ended the Jags’ run.