Strong final day leads Lady Jags to runner-up trophy

Spain Park fought off elimination three times to get to the championship game, once on Friday and twice on Saturday.

The Lady Jags dug themselves out of a hole in the first day of the Class 7A state softball tournament, all the way to a runner-up finish to Sparkman on Saturday at Lagoon Park in Montgomery.

“They’ve been resilient all year, and they just don’t quit,” head coach C.J. Hawkins said. “I’m very proud of them. They believe in each other and they just kept fighting through.”

Spain Park played three games in a row on the final day, the last one a 9-2 loss to Sparkman, giving the Senators the state championship.

In that game, Destini England and Kynadi Tipler each had a pair of hits, but Sparkman scored three in the first and four in the third inning to put the game out of reach.

To get to that point, the Lady Jags won three straight elimination games. They started the tournament on Friday with a 4-2 win over Fairhope, before losing to Sparkman, 7-0.

In the nightcap, Central-Phenix City put them on the ropes, sending the game to extra innings. In the eighth inning, Central took a two-run lead. But the Lady Jags didn’t go down quietly, storming back for three in the bottom half to claim the walk-off victory.

James Clemens, the top-ranked team in 7A for much of the season, awaited Spain Park on Saturday morning. The Lady Jags took care of business, throttling them 8-1. In the following contest, a big inning propelled them to a 13-2 win over Area 6 rival Vestavia Hills to set up the matchup with Sparkman.

Against Vestavia, Julianna Cross, Mary Katherine Tedder and England each drove in two runs, with Tedder going 3-for-4 overall. The Lady Jags put up a 9-spot in the second inning to break the game open.

Spain Park ends the season with a 40-19 record, and bids farewell to seniors England and Tipler.