Wednesday's softball roundup | Hatton closing in on return to state tournament

May 9—Despite a coaching change and losing more than half of last year's state championship lineup, Hatton is on the cusp of a return to the Class 2A state tournament.

The Hornets beat Locust Fork 14-3 and Lindsay Lane 8-3 on Wednesday to advance to the North Regional winners bracket final.

The Hornets will play Sumiton Christian on Thursday for a trip to Oxford. The loser will get a second chance later in the day.

Hatton is trying to make the state tournament for the 11th time in 14 state tournaments.

"A state appearance would mean a lot to us, especially for us younger ones that just moved up to varsity or just got here," eighth-grader Zella Williamson said. "We've just got to stay focused and make sure we come locked in tomorrow, play our hardest."

Williamson threw a six-hitter against Lindsay Lane, which needs to win three games to get to Oxford.

She teamed with Brianna Oliver to limit Hatton's two opponents to 10 hits over 12 innings of play. They combined to strike out 11 and walk four.

"I had a little bit of nerves before the game, but you've got to work through nerves like coach (Victoria) Burleson says," Williamson said. "After the first three innings, my rhythm got a lot better. I think I did all right. I think I could do better, but tonight was enough."

Some help from her offense didn't hurt, either.

Hatton was up 6-0 by the end of the third inning and 7-2 after four.

Kyi Smith and Anna Potter both collected three hits for the Hornets. Smith drove in two runs and Potter scored twice.

Kate Davis, Dusti Joe Conn and Sienna Perkins drove in a run for Lindsay Lane.

"We executed when we needed to execute. I mean, one through nine hit," Burleson said. "The bottom half of the lineup was hitting and hitting doubles. That's why we were scoring the way we were. It wasn't just the top half pulling the weight, it was everybody."

And that could lead to a place Hatton is plenty familiar with.

"It's a tradition to make it to the state tournament," said Burleson, who won four state titles as a Hatton player. "It would just be a dream and an honor to be on the coaching side of it. It just means so much to be in blue."

—Hatton 14, Locust Fork 3: It only took Hatton five innings win its first regional game. The Hornets scored 10 runs in the first two innings.

Ava Lovelady led Hatton with a pair of triples and six RBIs. Adley Armstrong scored three times, and Anna Potter had three RBIs.

—Lindsay Lane 3, Red Bay 2: Leigha Carder struck out six for the Lions, while Lily Jackson, Dusti Jo Conn and Kaitlyn McMasters each drove in a run.

—Sumiton Christian 4, Falkville 1: Hanna Summerford drove in Falkville's run.

—Falkville 20, Winston County 5: Ellie Cate Hill drove in four runs to lead the Blue Devils, while Torri McNutt had three RBIs. Allie Smith collected four hits.

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Class 1A

—Belgreen 7, Athens Bible 5: Claire Holt homered twice and had three RBIs for the Trojans in their season finale.

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Class 5A

—Russellville 6, Brewer 0: Breia Rusk, Keylyn Stapler and LC Hamilton each collected a hit for the Patriots in an elimination game.

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Class 3A

—Danville 12, Gordo 2: Ella Tidwell went 3-for-3 with three RBIs to help Danville avoid elimination. Ellie Tucker also collected three hits, while McKinley McCaghren struck out six.

—Winfield 10, Danville 0: Winfield's Willa Simmons tossed a one-hitter to push Danville into the losers bracket. Aubrey Reed's single was the hit for the Hawks.

— zane.turner@decaturdaily.com or (256) 460-1272.