The fight was what Wade Goodman was looking for all season.
Faced with the prospect of having to win four games Saturday to claim a state championship, the Pickens Academy fast-pitch softball team displayed the gritty attitude and determination Goodman had asked for in the first 30-plus games or the season.
Pickens Academy showed signs it could play that way in victories against Autauga Academy and Clarke Prep to set up a showdown against nemesis Macon East.
The Lady Pirates then took their game to another level.
“We fought. Man, we fought,” Goodman said. “We outhit them. We outpitched them. We outplayed them. I guess it was not meant to be.”
An 8-5 victory in nine innings forced a winner-take-all finale that Macon East took 6-4 to claim the Alabama Independent School Association (AISA) Class AA State title at Lagoon Park in Montgomery, Alabama.
Pickens Academy (29-6-1) outhit Macon East 29-16 in the final two games. It also showed the toughness and the body language in the final two games Goodman preached about all season. Unfortunately, the Lady Pirates couldn’t overcome a ball call with two strikes and two outs that would have gotten them out of the sixth inning with a 4-3 lead. Goodman said left-hander Shelby Lowe threw a changeup that was right over the plate but wasn’t called for a strike. Macon East’s No. 3 hitter capitalized with a hit on the next pitch to tie the game. The cleanup hitter followed with another hit that provided the final margin.
Goodman said the call didn’t decide the game because the Lady Pirates had opportunities to do more, but he said he would have liked to have seen what might have happened if that pitch was called a strike.
“It just breaks your heart to be that close to getting out of the inning and the umpire just didn’t make the call,” Goodman said.
Goodman said the loss didn’t overshadow some of the most tenacious softball he has seen the Lady Pirates play. He said years ago he had an opposing coach tell him your team is going to take on your personality. He said he finally saw that last weekend when the Lady Pirates “refused to lose” against a team that had more team speed and two dominant pitchers. Still, Pickens Academy was right there with a chance to win late in the deciding game.
“I am so proud of them,” Goodman said. “If you didn’t go, you have no idea how those girls played. They were making diving plays. Every one of those uniforms was filthy from head to toe when we left Saturday night.
“We played like we wanted it. In the past when we played Macon East, we rolled over and played like we were dead. This time they fought and fought and fought.”
Goodman said he doesn’t know what triggered the Lady Pirates to play with so much tenacity. He said it might have been the fact his players were so tired of hearing him talk about “body language.” Still, he didn’t see the fight he thought the team needed in a 2-1 victory against reigning champion Autauga Academy or in the next game, a 2-1 victory against Clarke Prep. Pickens Academy scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning against Autauga Academy.
That attitude changed against Macon East.
“Those last two games everybody hit,” Goodman said.
Unfortunately, the effort came up just a little short against a Macon East team Goodman said was the best he has seen in his time at Pickens Academy.
Goodman said losing Lauren Duckworth, who will attend Mississippi University for Women in the fall, and Allison Latham, class salutatorian who will go to Alabama, will be a big blow, but he believes in the returning players.
“They can do it. They just have to go to work,” Goodman said.
On Friday, Pickens Academy started its run with a 5-1 victory against Lowndes Academy. Lowe allowed two hits and one earned run. She struck out 19 and walked none. She also was 2-for-2 with two walks. Duckworth was 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Latham and Caroline Lewis also had singles.
Pickens Academy dropped into the losers’ bracket with a 4-3 loss to Macon East. Lowe scattered six hits in a complete-game effort. She allowed two earned runs, struck out eight, and walked none. Duckworth was 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Jessi Latham was 2-for-3 and Lewis was 1-for-3 with an RBI. Pickens Academy closed its first day with a 4-0 victory against Wilcox Academy. Lowe pitched a complete-game one-hitter. She walked one and struck out 14. Sydney Kilpatrick was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Allison Latham had a single and an RBI. Lewis had a single and two RBIs, and Audrey Fondren had a single.
On Saturday, Lowe surrendered four hits in the victory against Autauga. She walked none and struck out 11. Lowe also was 2-for-3. Allison Latham was 1-for-3 with an RBI. Kilpatrick was 1-for-4 with an RBI. Duckworth had a single.
Against Clarke Prep, Lowe threw a complete-game two-hitter. She walked one and struck out 15. Lowe was 2-for-2 with a home run and two RBIs. Duckworth had two singles, while Kilpatrick had a single.
In the victory against Macon East, Lowe allowed three earned runs in nine innings. She gave up nine hits, walked two, and struck out 10. Kilpatrick was 3-for-5 with two RBIs. Allison Latham was 3-for-5, Fondren had three singles and an RBI, Lowe was 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Duckworth had two singles in the 16-hit attack.
In the championship game, Lowe allowed four earned runs and seven hits. She walked three and struck out six. Duckworth was 3-for-4 with two triples. Lewis had three singles and an RBI. Jessi Latham was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Lowe and Kilpatrick had had two singles in the 13-hit attack.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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