Thompson now 24-3 overall following Gulf Coast Classic
Published 12:11 pm Thursday, March 28, 2019
The Thompson Warriors went 6-2 at the Gulf Coast Classic to make a run to the quarterfinals and improve to 24-3 overall this season. (For the Reporter/Dawn Harrison)
By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor
The Thompson Warriors’ softball team isn’t messing around this season, and continues to wow on the field following a 6-2 record at the 2019 Gulf Coast Classic.
While the Warriors have plenty to prove to skeptics across the state, their play on the field has been elite this year. Despite two losses in the tournament, Thompson is now 24-3 overall this season with all three losses by three runs or less to ranked opponents. The Warriors will have a big chance to host the area tournament this year if they continue to play well down the stretch.
A recap from each of the eight games at the Gulf Coast Classic is below.
Game 1: Thompson 13, Ohatchee 5
In the opening game of the tournament, Thompson jumped out to a quick 7-1 lead through two innings, and eventually tacked on six more in the final two innings for a 13-5 victory thanks to 14 hits compared to Ohatchee’s six hits.
Lauren Haskins, Kennedy Foote and Taylor Cordova all went 3-for-3 at the plate, while Foote and Cordova added three RBIs and Haskings one RBI.
In the circle, Madison Holtzapfel allowed four hits and four runs through three innings while striking out five. Madison Poplin pitched the final inning and allowed two hits and one run.
Game 2: Thompson 15, West Point 0
The second game of the tournament started a string of dominance pitching and defense, as the Warriors didn’t allow a run in four of their next five games.
Thompson came out in the top of the first with a nine-run inning offensively, which became more than enough for Eleanor DeBlock and Heaven Rodgers in the circle.
They combined to allow just two hits and posted five strikeouts in the shortened three-inning game.
The Warriors added two more in the second and four more in the third to pull off the 15-0 victory.
Haskins led the way at the plate going 2-for-3 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Six other players added a hit with an RBI, while a total of nine players had at least one RBI and eight had at least one hit.
Game 3: Thompson 7, Stanhope Elmore 0
The impressive early starts continued in the third game thanks to all seven of the Warriors’ runs coming in the first two innings of the 7-0 victory against Stanhope Elmore.
Thompson put up three runs in the first and four more in the second, while Rodgers pitched all four innings allowing four hits and striking out three in the shutout victory.
At the plate, Haskins led the way with a 2-for-2 game with two RBIs and two runs scored. Mikayla Touhey added three RBIs with a 1-for-2 game, while Foote went 1-for-2 with one RBI and two runs scored.
Game 4: Thompson 1, Prattville 4
Thompson got off to another good start against Prattville by taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but the Lions answered back with a run in the bottom of the first, before scoring three in the bottom of the fourth to pick up the 4-1 victory.
Kindall DeRamus, Grace Robertson and Ella Pate had Thompson’s only hits in the game, while Robertson posted the only RBI for the Warriors.
Game 5: Thompson 16, Pleasant Grove 0
It didn’t take long for the Warriors to bounce back from their first loss in the tournament, as they came back to start the elimination round of the tournament on Wednesday, March 27, with a 16-0 shutout of Pleasant Grove.
It took just three innings for Thompson to pick up the dominant win thanks to seven runs in the first, five in the second and four in the third. The Warriors outhit Pleasant Grove 15-1 in the game to dominate the game.
Foote and Lauren Cabiness led the team with three hits apiece, while Foote posted five RBIs and Cabiness two RBIs. Pate, Makenzie Munroe, Abby Kellogg and Haley Kennedy all had two hits in the win as well.
Game 6: Thompson 7, Sumiton Christian 0
The Warriors continued the hot bats into a matchup with Sumiton Christian by outhitting their opponent 11-3 for a 7-0 victory.
Thompson scored four in the first and then one in each of the next three innings to pull away for the win, while Holtzapfel, Rodgers and DeBlock combined to pick up the shutout win in the circle.
At the plate, DeRamus, Haskins, Foote and Robertson each picked up two hits. Kellogg went 1-for-2 with three RBIs, while Haskins added two RBIs.
Game 7: Thompson 6, Hatton 5
In a crazy extra-inning game, Thompson and Hatton were tied 3-3 through three innings, but after Hatton scored four in the top of the fifth, it looked like Thompson’s tournament was set to come to an end.
The Warriors, however, put together four runs in the bottom of the fifth to force extra innings. The game-tying hit was a three-RBI double from Cabiness with two outs and the Warriors down to their last out.
Then, after a 1-2-3 inning defensively, Thompson got another big two-out hit in the bottom of the sixth when Touhey hit an walk-off RBI single to drive home DeRamus for the 6-5 victory, which punched a ticket to the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Haskins went 4-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored, while Cabiness was 3-for-3 with three RBIs. Touhey went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, while Robertson also went 2-for-4 adding one RBI.
Game 8: Thompson 4, Pisgah 5
Thompson’s tournament came to an end in the quarterfinals against a ranked Pisgah team after a comeback attempt fell short for the Warriors.
Pisgah went up 5-0 through two innings, but Thompson answered back with four runs in the bottom of the third to get within a run. The Warriors, however, went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the fourth, and then never got to step to the plate again due to Pisgah changing pitchers between the inning. While the new pitcher was warming up, the time limit was reached to prevent starting the inning which would have meant Thompson got one more opportunity at the plate.
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