SOFTBALL RECAP: St. James falls short of championship goals
St. James coach Mark Hall and Tat Shuford chat during a recent game. The Trojans came close to winning the Class 3A state title last week. (File photo)
By TIM GAYLE
Moments after losing to Plainview in the 3A semifinal game, St. James coach Mark Hall pulled his team aside at Choccolocco Park’s softball stadium and pointed to Plainview and Opp as the two teams prepared for the state championship game.
“Now you see you belong here, you belong in this stadium, playing in that (championship) game right there,” he said. “You see how close you are to playing in it. Now you see what it takes to get here and that you belong as one of the top-ranked teams in the state of Alabama in 3A.
“They’re ready to get to work now on next year.”
St. James, which reached the finals eight times in the first 14 years of fast pitch softball, finally got back to the state tournament as a legitimate state championship contender for the first time since winning the title in 2008.
The Trojans edged Piedmont and Winfield in the first two games of the tournament, then lost to Opp and Plainview after reaching the semifinals.
“Against the two teams that we couldn’t get off to a bad start with, we did,” Hall said. “We gave up two runs to Opp in the first inning and two runs to Plainview in the first inning. (St. James pitcher) Emily Needham and I have a good rapport when it comes to calling what pitches work best for her. After the first inning, we figure everybody out. Against Opp, I basically called the wrong pitch a couple of times and they ended up scoring a couple of runs.”
The Trojans’ first two games were one-run thrillers, part of a remarkable string of 3A state tournament games that featured eight one-run games in the 11 games played on Thursday.
Against Piedmont, Emily Darby went 1 for 2 and drove in Ava Stanford with the game’s first run in the second inning and Arden Green doubled in the Trojans’ second run in the fourth to break a 1-1 tie. Needham gave up six hits and one earned run in seven innings, striking out 11 and walking none.
Piedmont had tied the game in the fourth inning as Carson Young drove in Cacey Brothers, who went 2 for 3 in the game. Savannah Smith allowed just five hits and one earned run in six innings, striking out four.
In the second game, St. James managed 10 hits but could only push across three runs in a 3-2 win over Winfield. Tat Shuford went 3 for 4 and scored a run, Lily Stanford went 3 for 3 and scored a run and Green went 2 for 3 and scored a run. Needham allowed just three hits and two runs in seven innings, walking one and striking out 10.
Against Opp, the Bobcats broke open a 2-1 game with six runs in the seventh, causing Hall to pull Needham and replace her with Peyton Middleton.
“You could tell she was starting to get tired,” Hall said. “We’re down a run and (Reese) Cauley’s dealing and we’re not squaring up too many balls. I just went ahead and pulled her.”
Cauley went 3 for 4 at the plate and drove in a pair of runs, while holding the Trojans to four hits while walking none and striking out 16.
Darby went 2 for 3 with a double and Green went 1 for 3 with an RBI.
The loss dropped the Trojans into the elimination bracket, where three of the four remaining teams would battle it out to play Opp in the championship game.
“We have the advantage because Plainview is having to play Madison Academy,” Hall said. “Madison Academy is actually up late in the game and Plainview just storms back. They’ve got hitters all through their lineup. Everyone of them can hit. We got off to a bad start. We throw a changeup to the three-hole hitter (Chloe Hatch) and it was like she knew it was coming. She cranks it to left field and they score two runs. We still haven’t gotten her out.”
Hatch went 3 for 3, scored three runs and drove in another. Jada Hampton went 2 for 3 with three RBIs, scoring a run, and Hannah Regula went 1 for 2 with a pair of RBIs. Shianne Parker allowed just four hits and one earned run in seven innings.
For the Trojans, Sydney Johnston and Ava Stanford had singles, Darby had a double and Green had a double and an RBI.
The Trojans had no seniors on this year’s team, so Hall said his goal is to work on adding some top-caliber opponents in 2025 in preparation for a return to the state tournament.
“I think the main thing everybody understands is we played a good schedule this year, but we need to ramp it up even more,” he said. “If that means we have to travel around to play better competition, then that’s just what we need to do.
“When you get to a state tournament, there’s no bad pitchers. There’s none. For the most part, everybody’s got an ace. So we need to go find these tournaments and these teams, maybe outside of our normal area, and go play them.”