Ardmore Crowned Area 14, 4-A Champs
by Perry Lewter
Ardmore and North Jackson met at Ardmore High School to determine who would advance to the next round of the AHSAA Softball Playoffs. The Lady Tigers earned the right to host the Lady Chiefs after capturing the Area 14-4A championship on Saturday. It took three games with East Limestone to determine a winner.
Tuesday’s winner will face the Central vs. Priceville winner next Tuesday. That winner advances to the elite eight in Montgomery May 17 and 18. Time and place of the contest will be announced after Tuesday’s contest.
Ardmore 6, East Limestone 3
The Ardmore Lady Tigers sent 11 batters to the plate and scored six runs in the fifth inning in their 6-3 win over the visiting East Limestone Lady Indians.
Amber Wise hit a pair of singles and Callie Steadman hit a double to lead the winners. Five other players hit a single Casey Steadman, Aarika Boggs, Kelsey Turner, Jennifer Ratley and Cherri Berry.
The Lady Indians got the lead in the fourth inning when Carly Rhodes hit a triple and scored on Cassandra McKinney’s sacrifice.
Allison Hodges, the courtesy runner for Wise scored the initial run for Ardmore. Wise hit a single and Hodges scored when Casey Steadman got life on an error.
Steadman scored when Boggs hit a single and scored on Ratley’s single. Callie Steadman’s double scored Boggs and Ratley. Callie Steadman scored on Turner’s hit.
Bess Rhodes and Staci Johnson scored for the Lady Indians in the top of the seventh after back-to-back singles.
This game began late Friday but was finished Saturday afternoon after a power failure on Friday.
Morgan Franks, who has not pitched much this season due to an injury, and Kayla Sneed pitched for East.
East Limestone 3, Ardmore 2
Carly Rhodes scored the deciding run in the top of the eighth when East Limestone defeated Ardmore 3-2.
East Limestone started a seventh grade pitcher who gave way to Kayla Sneed who pitched the last six innings.
Rhodes got life on an error and scored the winning run when Chelsea Turner got a base hit.
Leadoff batter Jyssica Pepper gave East the lead in the first after hitting a single. She scored when Carly Rhodes hit a sacrifice.
The Lady Indians extended their lead in the third when Morgan Franks hit a double and scored on an outfield error with Cassandra McKinney at bat.
Aarika Boggs hit a single and scored on Callie Steadman’s single in the third.
Jada Norton scored the Lady Tigers’ other run in the fourth. Norton hit a single and scored when Callie Steadman hit a single.
Casey Steadman went the distance for Ardmore striking out eight and walking two.
Ratley hit a triple, Casey Steadman a double for the Lady Tigers while Norton and Callie Steadman each hit a single.
Ardmore 2, East Limestone 1
Casey Steadman hit a homerun in the top of the seventh to assure the Ardmore Lady Tigers of a 2-1 win over East Limestone. Leading 2-0 the Lady Indians scored a run of their own in the bottom of the seventh.
Jyssica Pepper doubled and scored when Carly Rhodes hit a single.
Ardmore got the lead in the fourth when Brittany Miles hit a double. She scored on Kelsey Turner’s single.
Casey Steadman went the distance for the winners striking out 10. She did not issue a walk.
Steadman hit a double and homerun, Miles had two doubles and Turner two singles. Jennifer Ratley also had a base hit.
Pepper’s double and Rhodes’s single were the only hits for East.