Regional softball
- Updated: May 8, 2025
Spring Garden adds East Regional title, and Woodland advances to state. Oxford, Jacksonville Christian fall on final day of regional.
Softball regionals
EAST REGIONAL
At Sand Mountain Park, Albertville
Class 1A
WEDNESDAY, May 7
Skyline, 9, Appalachian 2
Spring Garden 9, Addison 2
Meek 15, Jacksonville Christian 2
Ider 10, Victory Christian 0
Winners’ bracket
Spring Garden 5, Skyline 1
Ider 13, Meek 1
Elimination bracket
Appalachian 19, Addison 7
Jacksonville Christian 8, Victory Christian 6
THURSDAY, May 8
Elimination bracket
Appalachian 6, Meek 4
Skyline 17, Jacksonville Christian 2
Winners’ bracket final
Spring Garden 4, Ider 3
Elimination bracket
Appalachian vs. Skyline, 12:15 p.m.
Final elimination game
Ider vs. TBD, 1:45 p.m.
Class 2A
MONDAY, May 5
West End-Walnut Grove 11, Falkville 2
Pleasant Valley 13, North Sand Mountain 3
Pisgah 6, Sand Rock 3
Cleveland 9, Decatur Heritage 6
Winners’ bracket
Pleasant Valley 6, West End 3
Pisgah 5, Cleveland 1
Elimination bracket
North Sand Mountain 10, Falkville 1
Sand Rock 10, Decatur Heritage 6
TUESDAY, May 6
Winners’ bracket final
Pisgah 9, Pleasant Valley 4
Elimination bracket
North Sand Mountain 6, Cleveland 5
West End 8, Sand Rock 4
West End 15, North Sand Mountain 1
Final elimination game
West End 8, Pleasant Valley 1
Class 3A
MONDAY, May 5
Fyffe 21, Randolph County 16
Ohatchee 11, Hanceville 2
Locust Fork 9, Glencoe 7
Collinsville 12, Weaver 5
Winners’ bracket
Fyffe 6, Ohatchee 2
Locust Fork 5, Collinsville 1
Elimination bracket
Randolph County 12, Hanceville 11
Weaver 4, Glencoe 3
TUESDAY, May 6
Winners’ bracket final
Locust Fork 9, Fyffe 2
Elimination bracket
Randolph County 10, Collinsville 7
Ohatchee 10, Weaver 4
Elimination bracket
Randolph County 5, Ohatchee 4
Final elimination game
Randolph County 6, Fyffe 5
Class 4A
TUESDAY, May 6
Ashville 5, Westminster Christian 4
Plainview 7, Alexandria 4
West Limestone 8, Etowah 6
Madison County 1, White Plains 0
Elimination bracket
Alexandria 13, Westminster Christian 0
Etowah 4, White Plains 3
Winners’ bracket
Plainview 11, Ashville 1
West Limestone 5, Madison County 3
WEDNESDAY, May 7
Winners’ bracket final
Plainview 6, West Limestone, 4
Elimination bracket
Alexandria 12, Madison County 7
Etowah 4, Ashville 0
Elimination game
Alexandria 8, Etowah 1
Final elimination game
Alexandria 2, West Limestone 1
Class 5A
MONDAY, May 5
Northside 5, Lincoln 4
Moody 13, Corner 6
St. Clair County 16, John Carroll Catholic 6
Springville 15, Leeds 5
Winners’ bracket
Moody 7, Northside 0
Springville 9, St. Clair County 4
Elimination bracket
Corner 8, Lincoln 7
Leeds 9, John Carroll Catholic 5
TUESDAY, May 6
Winners’ bracket final
Moody 5, Springville 1
Elimination bracket
St. Clair County 13, Corner 11
Northside 5, Leeds 0
Elimination bracket
Northside 4, St. Clair County 2
Final elimination game
Springville 5, Northside 3
Class 6A
WEDNESDAY, May 7
Oxford 14, Homewood 2
Mountain Brook 13, Clay-Chalkville 3
Pell City 17, Minor 1
Gardendale 16, Woodlawn 0
Elimination bracket
Homewood 19, Clay-Chalkville 0
Woodlawn 12, Minor 2
Winners’ bracket
Oxford 5, Mountain Brook 3
Pell City 21, Gardendale 8
THURSDAY, May 8
Winners’ bracket final
Pell Ciity 9. Oxford 1
Elimination bracket
Gardendale 9, Homewood 8
Mountain Brook 18, Woodlawn 0
Gardendale 22, Mountain Brook 5
Final elimination game
Gardendale 7, Oxford 0
CENTRAL REGIONAL
At Lagoon Park, Montgomery
Class 1A
WEDNESDAY, May 7
University Charter 6, Billingsley 2
Fayetteville 6, Autauga Academy 2
Maplesville 17, Keith 2
Woodland 15,. Autaugaville 0
Elimination bracket
Autauga Academy 5, Billingsley 4
Autaugaville 23, Keith 5
Winners’ bracket
Fayetteville 11, University Charter 1
Maplesville 6, Woodland 2
THURSDAY, May 8
Winners’ bracket final
Maplesville 6, Fayetteville 3
Elimination bracket
Woodland 7, Autauga Academy 3
University Charter 27, Autaugaville 12
Elimination bracket
Woodland 15, University Charter 0
Final elimination game
Woodland 11, Fayetteville vs. Woodland 0
Class 2A
MONDAY, May 5
Isabella 23, Highland Home 3
Ranburne 7, Reeltown 6
Horseshoe Bend 15, Central-Hayneville 0
Southeastern 15, Loachapoka 0
Winners’ bracket
Isabella 7, Ranburne 5
Horseshoe Bend 2, Southeastern 1
Elimination bracket
Reeltown 17, Highland Home 0
Loachapoka 16, Central-Hayneville 6
TUESDAY, May 6
Winners’ bracket final
Horseshoe Bend 6, Isabella 2
Elimination bracket
Southeastern 8, Reeltown 2
Ranburne 16, Loachapoka 0
Ranburne 4, Southeastern 3
Final elimination game
Isabella 7, Ranburne 3
Class 4A
TUESDAY, May 6
Prattville Christian 15, Pleasant Grove 0
American Christian 11, Handley 0
Tallassee 9, Oak Grove 8
West Blocton 14, Munford 3
Elimination bracket
Handley 15, Pleasant Grove 1
Munford 18, Oak Grove 3
Winners’ bracket
American Christian 5, Prattville Christian 4
West Blocton 13, Tallassee 1
WEDNESDAY, May 7
Winners’ bracket final
American Christian 4, West Blocton 0
Elimination bracket
Handley 4, Tallassee 3
Prattville Christian 6, Munford 1
Elimination bracket
Prattville Christian 9, Handley 0
Final elimination game
West Blocton 8, Prattville Christian 1
By Shannon Fagan
WEIS Sports Director
ALBERTVILLE – They say defense wins championships. That certainly proved to be true for Spring Garden on Thursday in their East Regional game at Sand Mountain Park against top-ranked Ider.
Senior catcher Maggie Jarrett was involved in two of the biggest defensive plays in the game, which helped ninth-ranked Spring Garden preserve its lead. The Lady Panthers held on for a 4-3 victory to clinch the regional championship and a berth in next week’s state tournament at Choccolocco Park in Oxford.
Spring Garden (19-11-2) will play Wednesday at 9 a.m. against North Regional runner-up Lynn.
With the Panthers up a run in the bottom of the fourth inning Thursday, Ider threatened to score with runners at the corners with two outs.
Jarrett noticed Cali Whitaker leaning a little too far off of third. Her snap throw to Panthers senior third baseman Olivia Law beat Whitaker back to the bag. Law applied the tag to end the threat.
“In those moments, you’ve just got to put it all in and hope for the best,” Jarrett said. “Knowing all the practice I’ve been doing, I just had faith right there to throw and trust my teammate (Law) to catch it and make the tag.”
An inning later, Ider’s Kahlan Greeson walked with one out. Milee Troxtel delivered a bloop single to right field with two outs. Greeson rounded third on the play trying to score, but she was gunned out on Addie Word’s throw from the outfield to Jarrett.
The play at the plate probably wouldn’t have happened, had Spring Garden senior pitcher Avery Steward made the cutoff throw.
“Thank goodness Avery missed it (on the cutoff),” Jarrett joked. “That was really good on Addie’s part, just knowing the play, knowing where the runner was. We were all screaming to throw it to home, and she did. That was really good on her part to get the ball in.”
Word just let her instinct take over.
“Somebody yelled ‘two!’ (catcher), and I saw the girl rounding third,” Word said. “I was just like, ‘I’m going to go home.’ Maggie got her out. It was just a great play.”
Great defensive plays highlighted Spring Garden’s two days in Albertville, which is something head coach Ann Welsh is proud to see heading into next week’s state tournament.
“We were spot on both days,” she said. “We made some tough plays where we had relays coming into home. We’ve had plays where we shot to first with a runner on third, and they go.
“It’s one of those things you do 100 times at practice, but that one time in the game is really what you practice it for. We had several of those. I’m super proud of the defense and the way they played behind our pitchers.”
Steward earned the win in the circle. She allowed three runs on eight hits with four walks and a pair of strikeouts. She also had a bunt single as part of the Panthers’ three-run third.
“We scored just enough to get by, and our defense made some great plays,” Steward said. “They just kept coming through.”
Law led off the top of the third with a single to left field off Ider pitcher Miklyn Troxtel. Following Steward’s bunt single, Helena Ingram delivered a two-run single to right. She later scored on Jarrett’s triple to center.
Helena Ingram led the Panthers at the plate by going 3-for-4. Jarrett went 2-for-3.
“We really wanted to get behind Avery,” Helena Ingram said. “We knew they (Ider) were really good, and it was really a tough game, but our defense and our hitting came along.”
The Hornets responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the third. Nine-hole hitter Bailey Ware led off with a single to right, then MaKinley Traylor hit an inside-the-park home run to left to make it a 3-2 game.
Traylor led Ider at the plate, going 3-for-4.
Spring Garden added what proved to be a crucial run in the top of the fifth. With one out, Helena Ingram singled to center, then scored on her sister Layla Ingram’s single to center to make it a 4-2 game.
Traylor tried to rally Ider in its last at-bat by doubling to left to lead off the bottom of the seventh. She scored on Greeson’s pop fly to right with two outs, but Steward struck out Troxtel to end the game and punch the Lady Panthers’ ticket to Oxford.
“I think we’re starting to peak at the right time of the season,” Steward said. “I think this is probably the best we’ve played as a group here lately. I hope we go down there and play as good as we have been.”
“It feels like we’re really solid right now,” Layla Ingram added. “Everybody’s locked in at practice. I think we’ve all just realized if you lose two games you’re out. None of us want to go home. We have a big group of seniors and we’re all just hungry. We’ve got a chip on our shoulder. This is the year I feel like we can do it.”
Jarrett said the Panthers feel like they have some “unfinished business” in Oxford.
“Every year we get there, we get out within the first two games. That’s not how we want it to go this year,” she said. “We want to make it all the way and win state this year. I think we can do it if we keep showing up to play like we played today.”
SKYLINE 17, JACKSONVILLE CHRISTIAN 2: Jacksonville Christian matched its deepest postseason run by reaching the second day of regional but fell to Skyline in the elimination bracket.
Sophie Williams and T Cash singled to account for the Thunder’s two hits, and JCA finished 8-14.
The Thunder rallied to qualify for regional with a runner-up finish in the area tournament and beat Victory Christian in Wednesday’s elimination-bracket action.
“If you’d have seen our first game, you’d be very surprised that we made it to the regional tournament,” JCA coach Katy Bryant said. “Our size affects us, if you make a run in basketball. Our first game was our third time on the field. It took us awhile to get going, but we really played well the last couple of weeks. I told them at the beginning I really feel like we can make a run and advance, but we’re young. My pitcher, catcher and first baseman were all eighth-graders there. We have one senior, but it was her first time ever playing.
“I really felt like we would make it here, but not a lot of people did. I’m thankful that the girls showed that. Even here, we get down 12 to nothing, it’s very to quit, but they’re still getting on base and stealing bases. They’re still battling. I’m just proud of how they never quit. Nobody likes to lose, but it’s a lot better losing here than never making it.”
— Joe Medley
Class 6A
NOT OXFORD’S DAY After winning two games Wednesday to play its way into Thursday’s winners’ bracket final, Oxford fell to Pell City 9-1 an Gardendale 7-0.
Jayla Jackson delivered an RBI single for Oxford against area rival and regional champion Pell City, but the Panthers went on to finish off a big tournament at the play. Pell City scored 47 runs in three regional games and advanced to next week’s state tournament at Oxford’s Choccolocco Park.
Charleigh Trotter and Madison Murphy each went 2-for-3 with a double against Gardendale, and Jordyn Alexander had a double.
Oxford lost eight starters from 2024 but finished 18-18, reaching the winners’ bracket final at the East Regional. The Yellow Jackets also made it to the final day of the Calhoun County Tournament.
“Things didn’t end the way we wanted them today, but the growth from each individual player to our team as a whole?” Oxford coach Wendy McKibbin said. “I mean, we played really well yesterday. Today just wasn’t our day. We had some errors and hit balls right at them.
“Just couldn’t get anything going, but we’re young. We don’t have any seniors. Most of these kids didn’t play varsity last year, so you can take that playing a 6A schedule? Class 6A is tough, so I couldn’t be prouder than I am right now.”
— Joe Medley
Central Regional
WOODLAND ADVANCES: The Bobcats rallied from the elimination bracket to take the Class 1A Central Regional’s second state-qualifying spot Thursday, beating Fayetteville 11-0 in the final elimination game.
Woodland will play an opponent to be determined on Wednesday at 9 a.m. at Oxford’s Choccolocco Park.
Railey Williams pitched a two-hitter and struck out six batters over five innings, and Lilly Kirby went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and a run. Skylar Vann went 2-for-2 with a double, two runs and two RBIs, and Emma Elsberry went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs. Lucy Phillips went 2-for-3 with a double, a run and an RBI.
— Joe Medley
Photo gallery by Joe Medley
You must be logged in to post a comment Login