OXFORD — Athens put itself in prime position to secure its second Class 6A state softball title in three years following a dominant performance on Tuesday.
The No. 5 Golden Eagles racked up consecutive wins over Baldwin County, No. 10 Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa and No. 4 Hartselle — outscoring those programs a combined 27-6 across three matchups at Oxford’s Choccolocco Park — to advance to Wednesday’s championship game(s).
Athens (28-13) needs just one more victory — either Hartselle, Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa or Gardendale must win a pair against the Golden Eagles — to carry home to the Blue Map trophy. The first contest is set for 1:30 p.m. — with the if-necessary clash to immediately follow.
See capsules from Tuesday’s games below.
Athens 7, Baldwin County 2
The Golden Eagles used a six-run eighth inning to pull away in their opener.
Morgan Stiles put Athens in front 2-1 following a bases-loaded RBI groundout to the pitcher before Caitlyn Tedford provided an RBI single — the Golden Eagles scored two on the hit thanks to a Baldwin County error — to make it 4-1. Lily Lowery and Amaya Green then followed with back-to-back homers to give their squad some breathing room.
Athens grabbed a 1-0 advantage in the second frame following an RBI double by Carly Ennis, and that lead held steady until Baldwin County tied the outing with a two-out infield single in the seventh inning.
Camry Townsend delivered in the circle, scattering five hits and four strikeouts in eight innings of work.
Athens 9, Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa 3
Coach Travis Barnes’ team built an 8-0 lead through four innings en route its second win of the day.
Athens boasted a 1-0 advantage in the first inning after Stiles led off with a single, stole second and third base, and came around to score on an RBI groundout by Tedford.
The Golden Eagles teed off in the third — Tedford (single), Lowery (single) and Green (double) all had consecutive run-scoring hits — and fourth frame — three straight RBI singles from Stiles, Tedford and Lowery followed a sacrifice fly by Kara Crews — to blow the game open.
Lowery’s steal of home in the seventh accounted for the team’s final run.
Athens 11, Hartselle 1
The Golden Eagles doled out some revenge to close the evening with a six-inning win over the Tigers.
Athens pounded out 14 hits and Townsend pitched another dandy (three hits allowed) to seal the deal.
Green (RBI groundout), Stiles (RBI single) and Lowery (RBI) helped their team command a 3-1 cushion in the fourth inning before the bats came to life even more.
RBI singles by Crews and Tedford — as well as a bases-loaded walk by Jazzalyn Davis and a sacrifice fly by Stiles — highlighted a four-run fifth that made it 7-1.
The Golden Eagles notched another four-spot in the sixth inning — Davis (single), Crews (bases-loaded walk) and Stiles (sacrifice fly) each produced an RBI before Tedford ended the festivities with RBI single that capped the perfect 3-0 performance.