WILCOX FCA SOFTBALL TOURNEY: Daphne beats Opp to win title

Opp coach David McVay congratulates Bradleigh Lanier after her home run against Mary Montgomery in the semifinals of the Alex Wilcox Memorial Tournament on Saturday. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

Calling the championship game of the fourth annual FCA Alex Wilcox Memorial Tournament a pitcher’s duel would have been a little bit of an understatement.

Opp senior Reese Cauley and Daphne junior Vic Moten carried no-hitters into the seventh inning, putting a premium on any player that could put a bat on the ball.

It was Cauley who struck first, blooping a single in front of right fielder Dasia Matt in the bottom of the seventh for the game’s first hit. Moten recovered by striking out the next two Bobcats to send the game into extra innings.

Daphne broke up Cauley’s no-hitter with four hits in the top of the eighth inning, scoring three runs to win the tournament championship 3-0 at Lagoon Park Softball Complex on Saturday night.

“I thought they both competed and threw well the entire eight innings,” Daphne coach Jenny Laird said. “I was glad we snuck away with it. We saw her last year twice and once the year before and we’ve played tight games every time.”

Cauley, the senior who signed in November with Auburn University Montgomery, was impressive throughout the tournament, throwing a no-hitter against St. Paul’s Epicopal in a 1-0 victory on Friday, then putting together a similar performance in a 6-0 semifinal win over Mary Montgomery and carrying a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Trojans in the finals.

With Cammy Herport placed on second base per international tiebreaker rules, Cauley got two quick outs as Sophia Hunt popped up trying to bunt and Braylyn Swann bunted to move Herpert to third. Abby J. Johnson singled to right to score Herpert, Moten doubled past third base to drive in Johnson and Abby Newsom’s perfectly placed infield single scored Moten for a 3-0 lead.

Hannah Newport followed with a double before Cauley struck out Matt to end the scoring.

“We don’t get the bunt down, then we move the runner to third, then we’re back at the top of the lineup 1-2-3 and to just string that together, that was super impressive,” Laird said.

Addison Moseley was placed on second base in Opp’s turn at bat, but never moved. Moten struck out Chloe Bentley, fielded Madie Wilson’s popup and struck out Elizabeth Kyser to end the game.

In all, the University of Alabama commitment struck out 18 batters, retired two more on popups to the circle and another on a grounder to account for 21 of the 24 outs recorded by the Trojans.

“She’s a bulldog,” Laird said. “She wants the ball. She wants to win. She’s super special. She throws it hard, spins it well and makes people miss a lot.”

Opp (18-2) played the championship game without shortstop Amaya Womack and catcher Rylie Kate Thrash, who were sitting out with injuries. The Class 3A Bobcats reached the finals of the tournament after defeating 5A Valley, 5A St. Paul’s Episcopal, 4A Andalusia and 7A Mary Montgomery before falling to 7A Daphne. Cauley allowed three runs on four hits, hitting one batter and striking out 13. At the plate, she had the Bobcats’ only hit.

Daphne (20-1) became the fourth different winner of the FCA Alex Wilcox Memorial Softball Tournament, allowing just two runs in six tournament games to extend its winning streak to 19 consecutive games.

“We want our kids to compete and with the competition we have up here, we ran into a couple of good teams,” Laird said. “Today at the end, Spanish Fort, St. Paul’s and then Opp, we had to bring our best. I was looking for (Daphne players) to compete and dig when things aren’t necessarily going your way. And you saw that pitcher’s duel. I don’t know how many strikeouts there were on both sides, but it was a lot. Having to push through because you’re not having a successful plate visit and having the tenacity to get it done at the end was nice.”

FOURTH FCA ALEX WILCOX MEMORIAL SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT

Lagoon Park Softball Complex

FRIDAY RESULTS

Catholic 8, Luverne 1

Opp 13, Valley 0

Benjamin Russell 1, Brookwood 0 (forfeit)

Mary Montgomery 5, Spanish Fort 0

Brantley 4, Trinity 0

Luverne 4, Andalusia 1

Opp 1, St. Paul’s Episcopal 0

Daphne 13, Benjamin Russell 0

Spanish Fort 8, Pike Road 5

Beauregard 6, Brantley 5

SATURDAY RESULTS

Andalusia 4, Catholic 3

St. Paul’s Episcopal 15, Valley 0

Daphne 2, Brookwood 0

Pike Road 5, Mary Montgomery 4

Beauregard 7, Trinity 5

BRACKET PLAY

FIRST ROUND

Andalusia 5, Luverne 4

Mary Montgomery 12, Trinity 5

Catholic 9, Benjamin Russell 3

Daphne 16, Valley 1

Spanish Fort 2, Brantley 1

Beauregard 5, Brookwood 4 (8)

St. Paul’s Episcopal 4, Pike Road 3

QUARTERFINALS

Opp 11, Andalusia 7

Mary Montgomery 14, Catholic 1

Daphne 1, Spanish Fort 0

St. Paul’s Episcopal 3, Beauregard 2

SEMIFINALS

Opp 6, Mary Montgomery 0

Daphne 5, St. Paul’s Episcopal 1

FINALS

Daphne 3, Opp 0 (8)