Photo by Kyle Parmley.
Spain Park’s Maggie Daniel (14) runs the bases during a Spain Park varsity game on Feb. 23. Daniel was Berry’s catcher and helped lead the Jags to the Metro title. Photo by Kyle Parmley.
The Berry Middle School softball team capped off the 2019 season with four straight wins April 5-6 to capture the Metro Tournament title.
The Jags picked up three wins on the second day of the tournament, beating Pizitz and Simmons (twice), the tournament’s top two seeds. The tournament victory gave Berry its second softball Metro championship in school history, with the first one coming in 2016.
“I am very proud of them, because they peaked at the right time,” said Berry head coach Allyson Ritenour. “They weren’t scared of anyone.”
The Jags entered the Metro tournament as the No. 4 seed, having beaten by the top three seeds — Hewitt-Trussville was the third seed — in the regular season. On the first day of the tournament, Berry picked off Bumpus 5-0. Ella Reed and Haley Thompson each drove in two runs for the Jags, as they scored a run in the third inning to take the lead and put up four in the fourth to pull away. Leadoff hitter and center fielder Emma Hawkins registered two hits and scored a run.
Reed, who pitched every game of the tournament for Berry, allowed just two hits in the game and struck out nine batters in five innings.
“She pitched lights out the whole tournament,” Ritenour said.
That win set up a memorable Saturday, one that began with the Jags defeating Pizitz 6-3. Berry jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second inning, a consistent theme throughout the tournament. Reed registered a double and three RBIs in the game, as Reed, shortstop Lucy Spisto and catcher Maggie Daniel each tallied two hits.
Berry then sent Simmons to the loser’s bracket as well, as the Jags picked up a 3-0 win by scoring single runs in the first three innings of the contest. Reed allowed five hits and struck out seven in six scoreless innings.
Simmons won the loser’s bracket game against Pizitz, setting up a championship matchup between the Jags and Simmons. Berry went on to win the title game 12-6, thanks in large part to an eight-run outburst over the first two innings. In the first inning, the Jags scored three on a run-scoring hit from third baseman Haley Thompson and a two-run double by Reagan Stewart.
In the second inning, the Jags scored their runs on a Reed sacrifice fly followed by three straight hits by Daniel, Haley Thompson and left fielder Macie Thompson. Haley Thompson finished with three hits and four RBIs in the game, and Berry tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on its way to the win.
Berry finished the season with a 14-5 record. Several of the players on the 2016 Metro-winning team are now top contributors with the Spain Park High varsity squad, and that appears to be a likely possibility for this year’s group in a short time as well.
“They jelled together really well, they held each other accountable. We got a lot better [throughout the season],” Ritenour said.
Also contributing to the Jags’ tournament win were right fielder Caroline Charles, who drove in a run in the first Simmons game. Reagan Stewart racked up seven hits in the tournament as the primary designated player. Second baseman Kaylee Heaton knocked in a pair of runs during the tournament as well. Ruth Cherry served as the team’s first baseman and Tayler Fickling saw action as a pinch runner. Ritenour also lauded Anna Fagan and Mary Orr for their positive leadership throughout the year.
