By BAKER ELLIS / Sports Editor

TUSCALOOSA – The Thompson Lady Warriors softball team finished the 2015 regular season ranked seventh in class 7A. Thompson, which beat out Hoover to claim the 7A Area 5 championship, went into the North Central Regional tournament in the same bracket with Hoover, No. 3 Hewitt-Trussville and No. 2 Spain Park. The Lady Warriors were matched up against Hewitt-Trussville in the opening game of the regional tournament, and lost 3-1 and as a result were knocked into the consolation bracket.

In the first game of the consolation bracket, Thompson squeaked by Hoover by a final of 1-0 to continue its season. Next up for the Lady Warriors was the second-ranked Lady Jaguars from Spain Park. Spain Park had claimed the Area 6 title over Hewitt-Trussville in the regular season, but got absolutely shelled in the regional tournament against the Lady Huskies in the second round by a final score of 16-1. Relegated to the loser’s bracket, Spain Park could not recover from its bludgeoning at the hands of Hewitt-Trussville, and Thompson defeated Spain Park by the narrow margin of 2-0.

Haley Crumpton took the mound for the Lady Warriors in the game against Spain Park to extend Thompson’s season. Crumpton threw a complete game, seven-inning effort where she tossed 80 pitches, gave up only two hits and struck out 10 on the day.

With Crumpton throwing smoke, Thompson needed minimal run support to get the win, and a single run in the second and fifth innings were enough to get the job done.

In the rematch with Hewitt-Trussville, Thompson could not complete the comeback and win the North Central Regional and fell to the Lady Huskies. Nonetheless, Thompson’s season will continue, as the top two teams from each regional tournament advance to the state tournament.

As the second qualifier from the North Central region, Thompson will face Central-Phenix City in the opening round of the 7A state tournament, which will take place at 11:30 a.m. on May 13 at Lagoon Park in Montgomery.