Warriors battle after game one loss, advance to Wednesday in 7A playoffs
Published 8:32 am Wednesday, May 14, 2025
The Thompson Warriors battled back from a loss in game one to advance to the final day of the Class 7A state tournament, now needing four wins to claim a state championship. (Reporter photos/Tyler Raley)
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By TYLER RALEY | Staff Writer
OXFORD – Tired as they were and ready to run off the field for the night, the Thompson Warriors knew they had to fight to the end in order to keep their season and championship hopes alive.
Down just one run in its third game of the day against Central-Phenix City Red Devils, Thompson had Morgan Adolphus stepping up to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the sixth inning.
As she stepped up to the plate, the momentum was all on the side of her Warriors, and she felt it immensely. When she saw the 2-1 pitch barreling towards her, Adolphus took a swing and struck it into center field for what became a two-RBI single, giving her team a 5-4 advantage.
That play flipped the script for Thompson, and soon after, it recorded six more outs to win and stay alive for another game.
The victory on Tuesday, May 13 earned a spot in Wednesday’s schedule of games at Choccolocco Park. However, the result did not come easy, as the Warriors had to give it everything to defeat the Daphne Trojans and Central after losing to the Sparkman Senators to open.
The beginning of the day against the Senators gave the impression of a calm pitcher’s duel. After a few innings though, it turned into a ball of emotions.
Thompson threw out Autumn Ingle in game one, who settled in nicely over the course of the first three innings. However, her team’s bats could not get going, and it proved to be costly.
In the bottom of the fourth with two outs and a runner on third for Sparkman, a passed ball resulted in a close play at the plate, where the Senators’ runner was called safe to make it 1-0. Immediately following was a walk and a two-run home run to center field to quickly make it 3-0.
The Warriors then built a little momentum in the top of the fifth with singles from Hannah Hobbs and Adolphus, before an eventual ground out from Lexi Kelley allowed one run to cross. Right after though, Aubrey Bauer launched a triple to left field to make it 3-2 and a brand new ball game.
Sparkman did not let those two runs hold up for long after that, and responded with two runs in the bottom of the fifth on a two-RBI double to make it 5-2 before a walk with the bases juiced in the bottom of the sixth made it 6-2, where the scoring ceased.
The loss in game one set up a do-or-die contest in the loser’s bracket with the Daphne Trojans, who had just come off of a nine-inning loss to Auburn.
This game was not just an elimination game though, as Thompson sought revenge on the team who ended its season last year and their new ace pitcher, Vic Moten.
To match what Moten offered, the Warriors sent Aubree Hooks into the circle to make the pitches, and that she did.
Both Hooks and Moten went pitch for pitch throughout most of the contest, with Moten allowing hardly anyone to get on thanks to her 11 strikeouts in the game.
The strikeouts worked for the vast majority of the contest, but finally, the Warriors gained an opportunity and took advantage of it.
In the bottom of the fifth, Adolphus earned a single on a bunt before stealing second. Then, a couple of pitches later, Whitney Holtzapfel notched a single into center field to score a run and make it 1-0.
The bottom of the sixth inning came soon after, which saw Destinee Ealy pinch run for Kadyn Bush. Hobbs then hit a single and score Ealy in to make it 2-0 in the closing stages of the game.
Hooks then took the field and retired the Trojans’ batters in order, earning a hard-fought 2-0 Thompson win and ending Daphne’s season.
Later on though, the Warriors came back for another elimination game against the Red Devils from Central, which was when the bats began to gain some life.
In the top of the first, an RBI triple from Olivia Tindell into center field drove in Kelsey Burden to make it 1-0. Tindell later scored on a passed ball to extend things to 2-0 in the early going.
Central responded quickly with an RBI single in the bottom of the second after a lead-off triple. Then, in the bottom of the third, the Red Devils gained two more runs from another RBI single to put them in the lead at 3-2.
Central did not want the party to stop there though, and it did not. With two outs in the top of the fourth, a wild pitch scored a run to extend the game to a 4-2 score in the latter half.
As a result of the Red Devils’ production, Thompson coach Kevin Todd exclaimed to his team they needed runs quickly. Luckily for him, the wish came true.
Two singles from Burden and Bauer led things off in the top of the sixth, before a walk from Bush loaded the bases. A walk drawn a couple of batters later from Hobbs made it 4-3, before Adolphus hammered one into center field for a two-run single, giving her squad the lead in the closing stages.
Bush then went to work to close the game off, and as the team recorded the final out, the Warriors went into a frenzy, knowing they had survived and advanced.
Bush and Hooks got the two wins in the circle, combining for nine strikeouts and just four runs allowed over the course of the day.
Thompson now prepares for the last day of the softball season, which will kick off against the Auburn Tigers at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, May 14 at Choccolocco Park. A win, and the Warriors will seek revenge on Sparkman. However, a loss will end their run in the Class 7A postseason.
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