Photo by Kyle Parmley.
Spain Park’s Annabelle Widra (66) pitches during a game between Spain Park and Oxford at Choccolocco Park in Oxford in February 2020.
The Spain Park High School softball team was well on its way to a huge season in 2020.
The Jags started out the spring with a 21-0 record and were clearly one of the top teams — if not the top team — in the state of Alabama, regardless of classification.
But when the season came to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that also ended the run of that team. That team’s four seniors — Alexis Anderson, Taylor Harrington, Lindsay Parker and Mackenzie Thompson — were denied the opportunity to finish what they started.
That’s what this year’s Jags team will look to do: finish what it starts.
“We’re really excited about 2021,” Spain Park head coach CJ Urse Hawkins said. “We have a lot of depth back and unfinished business.”
This year’s team has three seniors who provide a wealth of production. Annabelle Widra will serve as the varsity team’s top pitcher for the sixth year, having performed at a high level for Spain Park since she was in seventh grade. Widra has signed with the University of Michigan and will also be a force in the Jags’ lineup.
Lydia Coleman is a Penn State signee who can play several positions thanks to her versatility and athleticism. Chloe Brittain is a power-hitting first baseman who has come on strong over the last year.
“We’re just thankful to be playing and having a season,” Urse Hawkins said. “The girls are just really ready to get going. I know our opponents are ready and going to do whatever it takes to get the season in. We’re very blessed and honored to have this opportunity.”
There are a handful of others who contributed greatly last year as well. Ella Reed served as an outstanding second pitcher, posting an 11-0 record. Katie Flannery and Maggie Daniel are among those who will take on even bigger roles this season. Emma Hawkins, Katherine Brown, Kyndal Heaton, Morgan Jolley and Emma Jolley also possess some previous varsity experience. Blakley Watts transferred in from Briarwood and will play a big role as well.
Urse Hawkins is joined once again by Kyndall White, Johnny Camp and Allyson Ritenour on her coaching staff, along with athletic trainer Jason Zajac.
“They’re the glue, and they’re amazing,” Urse Hawkins said. “They just add so much diversity, and they make our coaching staff whole because everybody brings a little something different to the table.”
Spain Park’s road to a great season will not be an easy one, necessarily. The Jags are in Class 7A, Area 6 with 2019 state champion Hewitt-Trussville, an experienced Vestavia Hills and an always talented Oak Mountain squad. Only two of those teams will make it out of the area tournament.
“As a competitor, that motivation is there every year to be the very best, but we’re in the toughest area in the state and the toughest region in the state, so every day you have to bring your A game,” Urse Hawkins said.
The Jags took no time to ease into the season, hosting Bob Jones the first game of the year and competing in tournaments hosted by Wallace State Community College and themselves over the season’s first few weeks.
That will prepare them for area play and everything else that awaits. Urse Hawkins said the expectation, as in any other year, is a state championship. In order for that to be a possibility, everything has fall into place. The team’s health, pitching, defense and hitting have to peak at the right time. “That’s what it comes down to.”