‘Gauntlett’
- Updated: May 15, 2025
Slaton stands out to the last, but fourth-ranked Alexandria’s run against ranked teams ends with 3-2 loss in state tournament. Spring Garden eliminates Woodland, falls to Kinston.
State tourney scoreboard for area teams
CLASS 1A
Hackleburg 18, Spring Garden 5
Kinston 4, Woodland 1
Woodland 3, Waterloo 2
Spring Garden 8, Maplesville 3
Spring Garden 12, Ider 4
Woodland 7, Leroy 6
Thursday
Spring Garden 7, Woodland 0
NEXT
Kinston 7, Spring Garden 1
CLASS 4A
Alexandria 7, Curry 3
Orange Beach 3, Alexandria 0
Alexandria 3, Plainview 0
Thursday
Curry 3, Alexandria 2
By Joe Medley
East Alabama Sports Today
OXFORD — The usual tears and hugs followed Alexandria’s 3-2, season-ending loss to Curry during Thursday’s Class 4A state softball action, but Pressley Slaton found ways to smile.
The senior pitcher and Gadsden State Community College signee whose career credits include all-state selection, Calhoun County Class 4A-6A player of the year and county-tournament MVP hugged and even laughed with her now-former teammates.
It wasn’t that she felt detached from the moment.
“She can’t even cry right now because she’s so exhausted,” Alexandria coach Brian Hess said.
Slaton pitched all four of Alexandria’s state-tournament game. The Valley Cubs went 2-2, making it to the de facto Final Four of AHSAA softball, and never gave up more than three runs.
Slaton pitched 387 pitches, and Hess said he was prepared to start eighth-grader Reece Carr, had the Valley Cubs advanced in the elimination bracket with the potential of having to play as many as four games Thursday.
Slaton didn’t sound ready to rest.
“Don’t get me wrong,” she said. “I was a little gassed, but we always talk about, ‘What percent are you at?’ Whenever they ask me, I normally say 80 percent just to say it.
“I think I probably could’ve gone two, three more, just out of adrenaline and wanting to be there for my team. I’d be ready to throw however many they needed me to.”
Slaton played the lead for a gritty team that finished 41-11-3, won the county tournament, won its area tournament, qualified for state out of a brutal East Regional then fought to the second day of the state tournament.
The fourth-ranked Valley Cubs lost 3-0 to top-ranked Orange Beach and split two games against No. 2 Curry, winning 7-3 on Wednesday.
Alexandria’s two losses at state came against teams that entered the tournament with a combined 92 wins.
The Valley Cubs’ postseason run included victories over No. 3 West Limestone and No. 6 Madison County, and they split two games with No. 7 Plainview.
Hess considers this season “on up there” on the satisfaction scale, and the veteran coach has two state titles and a runner-up finish among his credits.
“It’s in the top three or four moments we’ve had here,” he said. “Just from the standpoint of the teams we’ve played, it’s been a gauntlett for this team. This team had to go throough a lot the last three weeks.
“We had a tough area (Cherokee County, Cleburne County, White Plains), and then we had to turn around and go to a region that was a lot of people’s state. We were trying to figure out just how to survive, and then we get here.”
Alexandria nearly lived at least another game Thursday. Senior Allyssa Hunt, still chewing the lucky gum that became a storyline at regional, hit a two-run single to tie the game 2-2 in the top of the sixth inning.
Curry loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh, and Shileigh Williams’ sacrifice to deep right-center field ended it.
Slaton spread out six hits and struck out 10 batters in 6 2/3 innings.
“Pressley pitched as good as I’ve ever seen her pitch,” Hess said. “She pitched like a senior is supposed to pitch.”
Class 1A
SPRING GARDEN: Spring Garden opened the day with a 7-0 victory over Woodland then lost to Kinston 7-1, coming one victory short of the Class 1A finals.
The Panthers finished 23-13-2 with area and East Regional championships, and their run included victories over top-ranked Ider at regional and state.
Avery Steward pitched a three-hitter against Woodland and went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs and two RBIs. Layla Ingram went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs.
Spring Garden broke a scoreless game open with a five-run fourth inning.
Steward’s RBI single accounted for Spring Garden’s run against Kinston, and Addie Word went 2-for-3.
WOODLAND: Ella Waites, Skylar Vann and Kinsley McDaniel each had a single against Spring Garden, but the Bobcats’ season ended at 33-9.
“We went from winning eight games last year to winning 34 this year,” Woodland coach Kayla Shelton said. “I think that describes us all. I’m so proud of them for the fight that they’ve had this whole tournament. I’m excited for next year.”
Photos by Joe Medley
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