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By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

It was lucky number seven for Chilton County High School’s softball team as the program captured its seventh-straight Chilton County Softball Tournament on March 8. The three-day tournament was held at Verbena High School and it culminated with a 15-5 win for the Tigers over Maplesville High School in the final.

“It means a lot, and I know this means a lot for this community and it means a lot to me too,” CCHS head coach Dustin Dunn said.

After advancing through the bracket, CCHS and Maplesville battled in the final and the score stood at 6-5 after the third inning with the Tigers ahead. Then, in the home half of the fifth inning, CCHS erupted for six runs and followed that up with three runs in the sixth inning to push the game out of reach and to the win. CCHS outhit Maplesville 18-5 in the final while Kaylee Dunn threw six innings of five-hit softball while giving up five runs (three earned) and striking out six batters.

“It kind of got ugly there for a while, but we found a way to win,” Dustin Dunn said. “Sometimes it is important to find a way to win ugly games.”

Mallie Harrison was 2-for-4 in the final with a double and three RBIs, and Brianna Goggins, Macey Pierce and Avree Williams each contributed two RBIs each. Maplesville’s Mollie Kayte Smith had two RBIs, and Kamylia Talley and Jaden McGee each had an RBI.

Championship Saturday was set after pool play on March 6 and 7, and the day got started in the first round with Isabella and Thorsby High Schools. The Rebels handled the Mustangs 8-4 with Allie Reeser leading the way going 3-for-4, and Gracie Hughins and Kadence Parker contributing two RBIs each. Isabella’s Aubriegh Davenport and Kylee Till were each 2-for-3, and Davenport and Ashley Wells each drove in a run. Jemison and Verbena High School was the other first round matchup and Verbena won 8-5 to advance to the semifinals. Verbena’s Breanna Wright went 3-for-4 with three doubles and two RBIS, and Lakeyn Mims launched a solo home run. Jemison’s Braelyn Bradford and Arabella Lack each contributed an RBI for the Panthers.

After the win over Jemison, Verbena met CCHS in the first semifinal and was overpowered by the Tigers 16-1 as Ava Baugh went three innings with three hits and one run. Pierce led the Tigers with a 2-for-3 effort with a home run and three RBIs, followed by Goggins going 2-for-2 with three RBIs to boost CCHS into the final. Kiara Ray and Mims each had a double, and Adie Tubbs drove in the lone run for Verbena on a single.

Thorsby faced Maplesville in the second semifinal and the Red Devils punched their ticket to the final with a 15-8 win. The two teams combined for 33 hits — Thorsby with 17 and Maplesville with 16. Smith was 3-for-4 with two doubles and five RBIs, and Hannah Crowe launched a grand slam to boost Maplesville. Brooklyn Reeser was 4-for-5 with two doubles, a triple and two RBIs, and Brinley Giambrone was 2-for-5 with two RBIs for Thorsby.

In pool play on March 6, CCHS went 2-0 with wins over Isabella and Verbena — 12-1 over Verbena and 17-2 over Isabella. Mallie Harrison launched a three-run homer against Verbena, and Pierce added a home run and two RBIs. Mallie Harrison hit her second home run of the day against Isabella. Verbena beat Isabella 13-5 in the third pool game of March 6 and were led by Mims who went 3-for-3 with a home run, double and four RBIs. Eliza Lovett drove in two runs for Isabella, and Emily Castleberry had an RBI.

In pool play on March 7, Maplesville went 2-0 with wins over Jemison and Thorsby — 11-1 over Jemison and 5-4 over Thorsby. Smith threw a no hitter against Jemison with just the unearned run on her stat line, and Auburn Bassett hit a three-run homer. The game between Maplesville and Thorsby was the closest affair of the tournament with the Red Devils narrowly taking it 5-4. With the game tied at 4-4 after the third inning it remained tied until the bottom of the sixth inning when Smith’s double drove in Talley for the winning run. Smith was 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs against Thorsby, and McGee and Kennedy Reed each hit a home run. Brooklyn Reeser led the charge for Thorsby with a 2-for-2 effort and a double, followed by Giambrone and Raygan Linville with an RBI each.

The final pool game on March 7 ended in a 0-0 tie between Jemison and Thorsby after a pitching battle between Linville and Jemison’s Hannah Popwell. Linville threw seven innings with four hits, two walks and eight strikeouts, and Popwell responded with six innings of four-hit softball with two walks and nine strikeouts.

The wins in the county tournament moved CCHS to 14-3 on the season at the time.

“We have been playing really well, but still have a lot to work on,” Dustin Dunn said. “I think we are going to get there to where we want to be.”

Pierce was named the tournament’s MVP, and Verbena won the tournament’s Sportsmanship Award.

 

2025 Chilton County Softball All-Tournament Team

Macey Pierce, Chilton County High School (MVP)

I’Shunti Brown, Chilton County High School

Mallie Harrison, Chilton County High School

Brianna Goggins, Chilton County High School

Lily Benson, Chilton County High School

Kaylee Dunn, Chilton County High School

Mollie Kayte Smith, Maplesville High School

Jaden McGee, Maplesville High School

Kennedy Reed, Maplesville High School

Kamylia Talley, Maplesville High School

Allie Reeser, Thorsby High School

Brooklyn Reeser, Thorsby High School

Brinley Giambrone, Thorsby High School

Kylee Till, Isabella High School

Aubriegh Davenport, Isabella High School

Trinity Bean, Jemison High School

Hannah Popwell, Jemison High School

Lakyn Mims, Verbena High School

Breanna Wright, Verbena High School