Sports

Demopolis softball wins area tournament, outscores Greenville 28-1 in two games

May 2, 2014May 3, 2014 Jeremy D. Smith AHSAA, Alabama, Demopolis, demopolis high school, DHS, Lady Tigers, prep sports, softball

Demopolis (12-27) left little doubt Friday as it earned the Class 5A, Area 6 softball tournament championship with an 18-1 thrashing of Greenville.

“I’m extremely proud of the whole team. Everybody played as a team,” Demopolis coach Joey Browder said. “Everybody did their job. They did a good job of keeping each other up. We’re going to keep working this next week to get better.”

Demopolis hung three runs on the board in each of the first two innings before posting a seven spot in the third and a five-run mark in the fourth to take the four-inning game.

Demopolis players Natalie Tatum, Cameron Thomason, Anna Caroline Logan, Courtney Smith, Hannah Malone and Abbey Latham earned All-Tournament honors Friday. They are pictured here with Greenville players Tankeria Durant, Danisha Durant and Kenyatta Peterson.

Greenville got its lone run in the fourth when Kenyatta Peterson scored on a Summer Bucciarelli RBI sac fly.

Hannah Malone tossed a complete game one-hitter for Demopolis, striking out four over four innings while giving up one unearned run.

Abbey Latham opened the scoring with a three-run homer in the top of the first that plated Courtney Smith and Anna Caroline Logan.

Smith scored again in the second inning when she crossed home on the back end of a delayed double steal that put Demopolis up 4-0. Logan then scored on a Latham double while Holli Gandy touched the plate on a Cameron Thomason RBI single.

Julia Veres and Riley King scored in the third on a RBI single by Smith. Logan then ripped a RBI single to plate Smith.

Demopolis kept the onslaught going in the fourth when Latham scored from second on a dropped pop fly. Thomason and Kendall Hannah then scored on a Jade Montgomery 2-RBI single. Jessica Adams scored the final run of the frame on an error by the right fielder.

Demopolis put the game completely away in the fourth as King reached on a bean ball, stole second and later scored on a passed ball. Smith singled and scored on a Latham RBI sacrifice fly. Thomason and Hannah came home on a two-run double by Montgomery. Adams scored the last run of the Demopolis half on an error.

Demopolis won its first game of the day 10-0 over Greenville, scoring two in the second and three in the third inning before finishing it with five runs in the fifth.

Natalie Tatum worked a complete game, allowing one hit and walking four while striking out six in the shutout.

Adams and Hannah opened the scoring in the second when both reached home on a wild pitch. Logan scored on a passed ball in the third to put Demopolis up 3-0. Latham then scored on a Thomason RBI sacrifice fly. Ashleigh Ivory made it a 5-0 lead when she came on to run for Baleigh Grace and scored on an Adams RBI grounder.

Veres scored the first run of the sixth-inning rally when she walked and came in on a Smith RBI single. King walked and later scored on an error. Logan drive in Smith with a single. Latham then ripped a triple to plate Logan. Latham scored the run to end the game on a Thomason infield single.

“We’ve come leaps and bounds,” Browder said of his team’s growth over the course of the season. “I think anybody that is watching us play right now can see that. We’ve got to keep working on us and stay together and they’ve got to play for each other.”

Smith went 6-for-8 in the tournament with three RBIs, three stolen bases and five runs scored. Logan was 5-for-7 with five stolen bases, four runs scored and two RBIs.

Latham finished 5-for-7 with a homer, a triple, two doubles, a stolen base, four runs scored and six RBIs. Thomason finished 4-for-7 with three RBIs, a stolen base and two runs scored.

Adams finished 2-for-5 with one RBI, a stolen base and three runs scored. Hannah was 2-for-4 with three walks, a stolen base and three runs scored.

Veres had a hit, a walk and two runs scored. King walked three times, stole three bases and scored three runs. Grace walked twice and stole a base. Gandy and Ivory each scored a run.

Earning All-Tournament honors for Demopolis were Smith, Malone, Tatum, Logan, Latham and Thomason.

Demopolis moves on to region tournament play in Troy next Friday when it will face Homewood in the opening round.

“No. 1, we want to keep getting better. We want to play as a team and we want to go win regionals,” Browder said.