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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

CHELSEA – The loaded field at the Hornet Invitational contained two of MaxPreps’ three nationally-ranked softball teams from the state of Alabama: the Thompson Warriors and the Orange Beach Makos.

After both teams took care of business in pool play, they squared off for a long-awaited showdown between two of the state’s biggest softball powers, the first meeting since 2023.

Thompson took full advantage of the opportunity, allowing not runs and just five hits in a 4-0 win over the national No. 3 Makos to win the Hornet Invitational title on Saturday, April 12 at the Chelsea Sports Complex.

The win capped off a 4-1 run through the tournament that saw the Warriors beat the Auburn High School Tigers 3-2, the Alexandria Cubs 3-2 and the Helena Huskies 9-1 on the road to the matchup with Orange Beach.

However, Thompson started its tournament with a 4-2 loss to the host Chelsea Hornets.

After the Warriors took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth, Chelsea equalized in the top of the fifth with a Lorelei Beck single. Beck also came up with the go-ahead hit in the top of the seventh with a two-run single to take a 4-2 lead.

Hooks went 2-for-3 at the plate while taking nine strikeouts in five innings against one earned run, two total runs, five hits and three walks.

Thompson bounced back with a one-run win over Auburn to close the day on Friday, April 11.

While the first two innings came and went without either team scoring, Aubrey Bauer overcame a two-out hole to hit an RBI single, bringing Mallory Flournoy home after her lead-off single for the 1-0 lead.

The Warriors got another big two-out rally in the bottom of the fourth when singles from Hooks and Morgan Adolphus set up a two-run single from Flournoy, taking the lead to 3-0. Flournoy finished the game 2-for-2 with two RBI.

After a scoreless fifth, the Tigers got two on with one out in the top of the sixth and followed it up with an RBI double to get on the board. Two batters later, an error helped Auburn cut the gap to 3-2.

However, the Warriors secured the victory without allowing another run as Lexi Kelley came in and got two strikeouts in a one-two-three seventh.

Kadyn Bush took the win with seven strikeouts in six innings against one earned run, two total runs, three hits and three walks.

Bush also helped her team take an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first against Alexandria with an RBI ground out.

Thompson kept Alexandria’s offense at bay until the top of the fifth when a two-out RBI double plated two runs to put the Cubs in front 2-1.

Kelsey Burden quickly doubled in the bottom of the inning to set up the response. She reached third on a sacrifice bunt while an Olivia Tindell sacrifice fly brought her home to tie up the game at 2-2.

The game remained knotted up until the bottom of the seventh when a hit by pitch and two walks loaded up the bases for the Warriors. That brought Hooks to the plate with two outs, and she avoided extras with an RBI single to walk off and take the 3-2 win.

Burden finished 2-for-4 with two runs, Adolphus was 2-for-3 and Tindell, Bush and Hooks each earned an RBI.

In the final game of pool play against Helena, Thompson channeled the form from its two dominant wins over the Huskies to beat their county foe for a third time.

After a scoreless first, the Warriors got the first two runners of the bottom of the second aboard before a one-out RBI single from Adolphus opened up a 1-0 lead. Two more runs crossed home plate off errors to extend the lead to 3-0.

Helena got its own chance to capitalize off an error in the top of the third when Lily Abernathy followed one up with an RBI double to get on the scoreboard.

Thompson handled the Huskies offense from there and resumed its scoring in the fifth. After a hit by pitch and a walk forced Helena into its bullpen, Bush doubled to center to restore the three-run lead.

That proved to be the start of a big rally as Hannah Hobbs and Adolphus hit RBI doubles to make the lead 7-1 before RBI singles off the bats of Flournoy and Burden finished off the 9-1 win.

Adolphus was the lone Warrior with a multi-hit game as she went 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs.

Hooks got the win with eight strikeouts in 5.2 innings. The one run that crossed home plate was unearned, and she worked around three hits and three walks to take the victory.

That win set up a high-profile showdown with Orange Beach for the tournament championship.

Thompson immediately got Burden and Bauer off singles in the top of the first. The next two batters grounded out, but an infield error plated two runs and put the Warriors in front 2-0.

Bush dominated in the circle, working around five hits and a walk over the course of her 5.2 innings by securing six strikeouts to get out of jams with multiple runners on.

Ahead of Bush’s exit, the Warriors rallied again in the top of the sixth. After a Bauer single and a Tindell walk to start the top of the sixth, both runners reached scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. Blakely Davis was then called out at the plate for the second out, but Hobbs came up big on the ensuing at-bat.

She sent a line drive into right after battling through a full count to plate two runs and extend the lead to 4-0.

From there, Hooks entered the circle and was perfect in the final 1.1 innings to seal the win and the title.

Bauer was 2-for-4 in the game while Hobbs had two RBI in a 1-for-3 performance.

The Warriors are now 31-3 overall and moved up six spots to No. 13 in the latest national rankings while Orange Beach held at No. 3.

Thompson will start its final area series against Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa on Tuesday, April 15 at 4:30 p.m. at Thompson High School. The second half of the series will be Thursday, April 17 at 4:30 p.m. at Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa.