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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

HELENA – The Spain Park Jaguars are heading to the Class 6A Central Regional after defeating the Chelsea Hornets twice to secure the runner-up spot in the Class 6A, Area 7 tournament.

Spain Park defeated Chelsea 9-7 on Friday, April 25 in the first round before a 13-3 elimination game win on Monday, April 28 at Helena High School to reach the area finals, improving their record against the Hornets to 4-0 in the year.

In the first-round game against Chelsea, Spain Park got two on early in the bottom of the first ahead of a strong two-out rally. Allie Whitaker scored the opening run with an RBI single ahead of a two-run single from Reagan Roberts on the next pitch for a 3-0 lead.

The second inning came and went without a run, but the Jags took the lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the third. They used a one-out walk to set up a two-out RBI single from Roberts, her second of the game.

Spain Park got a pair of free base runners off two walks with one out, and after both of them stole a base, the Jags would go on to score off a passed ball during the final at-bat of the fourth.

That put Spain Park up 5-0, and that lead would hold until the top of the sixth when the Hornets fought back.

With two on and one out, Lorelei Beck scored Katie Hopson from third with an RBI double to put Chelsea on the board. An error then scored two more runs to cut the deficit to 5-3, and Lauren Hilyer followed it up with an RBI single to make it a one-run game.

An error put runners on first and second, and two batters later, Madeline Kelley tied up the game at 5-5 with an RBI single.

Chelsea would then strike again in the top of the seventh with two decisive swings. With one out on the board, Caroline Brown took the first pitch she saw yard to retake the 6-5 lead. Two pitches later, Sydney Carroll joined her with a solo shot of her own to make it 7-5.

Spain Park limited the damage from there and got going in the bottom of the seventh with an Allie Whittaker lead-off walk. Two batters later and after a pitching change, Abigail King ripped a triple to right to make it a one-run game.

Maxie Provost then doubled with two outs to put two runners in scoring position, and Bennett was intentionally walked to load up the bases. Chloe Wade walked with the bases loaded to tie up the game at 7-7, and Jordan Weiner then came in as a pinch hitter with the game on the line.

She stepped up and delivered with a line-drive double to right that plated two runs and secured the 9-7 walk-off win.

Spain Park then faced Helena for a spot in the area title game and a spot in regionals.

After a Macie Brashears walk and an error that got Lily Sanderson aboard in the top of the first, Addison Draiss sent both runners home with an RBI single for the 2-0 lead. The next two batters reached freely before the Jags changed pitchers, but a bases-loaded walk by Destiny Brashears made it 3-0.

Spain Park recovered by taking the next two outs, but a Henley Traywick single and Macie Brashears hit by pitch increased the lead to 5-0.

The Jags responded in the bottom half of the inning, taking singles from Wade and Weiner to set up a three-run shot from Klara Thompson to cut the deficit to 5-3.

Helena got back in business with a walk and an error with one out in the top of the second. Two batters later, Baleigh Sprouse sent a double to left field to clear the bases for the 7-3 lead.

Spain Park got a run back right after that as Charlee Bennett came up with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the second, making it a 7-4 game with just one swing of her bat.

The scoring quieted down until the top of the fifth, when with two on and two out, Sanderson sent a ball to left, and a missed catch led to a run scoring and an 8-4 lead for Helena.

Reagan Roberts bounced back in the bottom of the fifth with a first-pitch line-drive single to left that scored a run with two outs and cut the gap to 8-5.

Helena wasn’t finished though as an error and a single forced a pitching change and allowed Destiny Brashears to bring the final run home off a sacrifice fly for the 9-5 win.

Henley Traywick finished 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI while Sprouse was 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run. Destiny Brashears and Draiss each had two RBI in the win.

Carrington Schiefer got the win with six strikeouts in five innings against four earned runs of five total runs, nine hits and no walks. Parsons got the save with two hitless innings while allowing just two walks and striking out two batters.

For Spain Park, Bennett was 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI, Weiner finished 2-for-4 with a run and Roberts went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Klara Thompson had three RBI in a 1-for-4 day.

The Jags then faced a do-or-die elimination game against No. 3 Chelsea for a spot in regionals.

Facing a Hornets team that just got past Pelham, Thompson started the top of the first with a two-out RBI single that opened up a 1-0 lead.

However, after Katie Hopson drew a lead-off walk to start the bottom of the first, Caroline Brown dropped a ball just over the right-field fence for a two-run home run, flipping a one-run deficit into a one-run lead with one swing.

While the Jags left the bases loaded in the second, singles from Weiner and Thompson put two on to start the third. Two batters later, Abigail King took the first pitch she saw deep for a three-run home run that put Spain Park up 4-2 and in the lead for good.

The Jags weren’t done in the inning as they loaded up the bases on two walks and a single, setting up Bennett to make the lead 5-2 off a sacrifice fly.

Lauren Hilyer cut the gap to two runs in the bottom of the fourth as she started the inning with a deep solo shot to center off a 1-2 pitch, making it 5-3. Chelsea would load up the bases on two walks and a Hopson single, but Jaley Young got the strikeout to end the inning and the scoring threat.

The Jags poured on the offense in the top of the fifth, following up a lead-off Tatum Lasseter single and a one-out Bennett double with an RBI single from Wade. That made the lead 6-3, and while the next batter got out after a pitching change, Thompson walked to load the bases.

The walk brought up Roberts, who swung on a 1-0 pitch and hit a no-doubt grand slam to chase another Chelsea pitcher and take the lead to 10-3.

Spain Park kept rolling down the stretch, loading up the bases in the top of the sixth ahead of a hit by pitch and an RBI ground out for the 12-3 lead, and a King RBI double in the top of the seventh finished off the 13-3 win.

King was 3-for-5 with four RBI and a run, Lasseter finished 4-for-5 with a run and Roberts earned a 2-for-5 stat line with her grand slam and another run on top of that. Thompson went 2-for-4 with a walk, two runs and an RBI and Weiner was 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run.

Peyton Williamson got the win by allowing one run in two innings against three hits and a walk. Young secured the four-inning save by shutting out the Hornets with four strikeouts against two hits and three walks.

For Chelsea, Hopson was 2-for-3 with a run and Beck had a multi-hit game with a 2-for-4 showing in the Hornets’ final game of the season.

The win set up a rematch with Helena for the area championship.

Helena got on the board in the top of the first thanks to four walks in the inning that allowed Macie Brashears to score off a wild pitch for the 1-0 lead.

Spain Park struck back in the bottom of the first, using a lead-off walk to set up a one-out Thompson home run that gave her team a 2-1 lead. The Jags followed it up with singles from Roberts and King ahead of an RBI single by Whitaker, taking the lead to 3-1 in the process.

Parsons then came in to pitch and struck out each of the next two batters to end the inning, setting up the Huskies to respond in the top of the second.

After a hit by pitch and a walk gave Helena two on with one out, Sanderson brought both a run home with a two-run single to cut the gap to 3-2. The Huskies would then tie it up on an error just before the middle of the third.

Helena turned a double play to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the third, but Spain Park retook the 4-3 lead in the bottom of the fourth with a one-out solo home run from Bennett.

The Huskies struck back in the top of the fifth, taking advantage of a new Jags pitcher with a walk and an error. Two batters later, Henley Traywick hit a line drive to center that put her on third and cleared the bases to give Helena a 5-4 lead.

Macie Brashears walked to put runners on the corners and force another pitching change. Roberts got a strikeout to resume her time in the circle, but Draiss plated two more runs with an RBI double to take the lead to 7-4.

The Huskies shut it down with Macy Rooker pitching as she allowed just two hits in the final two innings to seal the area title.

Parsons got the win with three innings of one-run softball, striking out four batters while allowing three hits and two walks.

King was 4-for-4 in the loss while Roberts finished 3-for-4 at the plate with a run and earned five strikeouts in 4.2 innings in the circle.

Spain Park will now head to the Central Regional in Montgomery on Wednesday, May 7 at Lagoon Park to play for a spot in the state tournament.