Thorsby takes area softball title over Isabella

Published 2:36 pm Wednesday, May 3, 2023

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By Carey Reeder | Staff Writer

It came down to the two Chilton County high schools in AHSAA Class 2A Area 6 play in the final of the area softball tournament. Thorsby and Isabella high schools navigated through B.B. Comer and Fayetteville high schools to set up the final showdown and both earn spots in the regional tournament. In the end, it was the Rebels who took home the area softball championship 11-1.

Makinley Turner dominated in the circle and at the plate for Thorsby in the final. She struck out seven hitters in five innings and allowed just two hits. Turner broke the game open in the second inning with a grand slam that made it 7-0 at the time.

Brooklyn Reeser also shined for Thorsby in the final, going 3-for-3 with two doubles.

The tournament stretched across two days from May 1-2 at Thorsby High School, and it got started with the Rebels taking on Fayetteville to open day one. Fayetteville took a 2-0 lead, but Thorsby responded by scoring the game’s final seven runs to win 7-2. Brinley Giambrone, Braelyn Whitfield and Felisha Sanders each went 2-for-3. Sanders had three RBIs, and Turner struck out 10 hitters in the circle.

Isabella got their tournament underway in the next game against Comer. Isabella came up short 6-2, but were still alive for a spot in the regionals with the tournament being double elimination. Morgan Short had a triple and two RBIs in Isabella’s loss to Comer.

The Mustangs took on Fayetteville in the last game of day one and fended off elimination winning 6-3. Jasmine Brasher went 3-for-3 with an RBI, and Anna Johnson was 2-for-3 to lead the way.

Day two began with a matchup between Thorsby and Comer with a spot in the championship game on the line. Thorsby again went down 2-0 early, but scored 10 unanswered runs to cruise to the win and the area final. Giambrone was 3-for-4 with a double, triple and RBI. Summer Powell, Carlee Birchfield, Emry Davis and Turner each contributed two RBIs each. Turner was dominated again in the circle striking out 16 Comer hitters.

That sent Comer to the last elimination game of the tournament against Isabella. The Mustangs trailed 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning, but Kelsey Cox roped a single to score two runs and tie the game. The game went to extra innings, and starting pitcher Auburn Bassett loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the eighth inning. However, she struck out the next batter and got a double play on the following batter to get out of the jam. Bassett threw 146 pitches in eight innings and struck out five Comer hitters.

That set up Amelia Fjeldstad to lay down a bunt with two runners on base in the bottom half of the inning that forced an error from Comer, and the winning run was scored. The Mustangs did lose third baseman Morgan Short to an ankle injury during the tournament, and plans to play for her at the regional tournament.

“It was really a momentum changer for her because she had struggled to know where the umpire’s strikeout was because it was constantly moving. Auburn knows to trust her fielders when she is struggling, and that is the key thing for her,” Isabella coach Kacie Adams said. “We are pretty excited (going into regionals), and I think the mindset going into regionals is whatever we do there is for (Morgan).”

Both Isabella and Thorsby advance to the central regional tournament at Lagoon Park in Montgomery from May 9-12.