Hanceville SB defeats Vinemont, qualifies for 3A regional:
Hanceville 5 & 1 in 3A, Area 12 since final week of the regular season:
GDW Analysis:
LOCUST FORK: Hanceville softball has experienced a positive turnaround after the program was fined by the AHSAA for violation of the transfer rule in late March.
Hanceville had to forfeit three victories and drop from the No. 3 seed in the Cullman County tournament to No. 7.
The reward for getting the adversity over the heads and out of the way happened Tuesday afternoon at Gregg Armstrong Field.
Hanceville defeated Vinemont 10 to 4 in the loser's final of the AHSAA 3A, Area 12 tournament.
That has the Lady Bulldogs qualified for the North Regional next week in Florence.
Since April 15, the Lady Bulldogs have won five of their last six games vs. area opposition.
Three of the victories have been over Vinemont.
Hanceville claimed a 17 to 7 victory April 18 at Turney/Gingrich Field that knocked Vinemont out of a first place tie in the area with Locust Fork.
The pair met twice in the area playoffs.
Hanceville won on Monday 4 to 2 before putting Vinemont's season to a close.
Vinemont was 6 & 1 entering the game with Hanceville 11 days ago.
All of the losses in this span in the area for Vinemont have come to Hanceville.
Vinemont had to pull off a miracle in the early afternoon Tuesday, scoring twice in the last of the 7th to get past JB Pennington 6 to 5.
Walks to Audrianna Key and Kylie Metzger resulted in two runs coming across to win the game.
Metzger got a 2 out walk with the bases loaded as Key touched home with Vinemont moving on to face a Cullman County foe in the finals of the loser's bracket.
Abby Kuykendall had a bases clearing double in the 4th that pushed Vinemont ahead of Pennington 4 to 3.
Pennington tallied 2 runs in its half of the 6th and was back in front, 5 to 4.
Vinemont's final inning consisted of two errors by the Pennington defense, two walks and intentional walk, a fielders choice and one hit.
Hanceville vs. Vinemont:
The two locked heads with Vinemont leading 1 to 0 after the first. Hanceville scored twice in the 3rd to grab the advantage, 2 to 1.
The rest of the game belonged to Hanceville in the quest of run production.
Five runs dashed home in the Lady Bulldogs' 5th, a run was added in the 6th and two insurance runs scored in the 7th.
Karrigan Pipkin slashed a two run single, Aeris Pyle and Zoe Pitts had run scoring base hits and an RBI was accounted for on a ground out by Piper Butts.
Kynzlee Farr and Josi Jones got credited for the insurance runs in the 7th with base hits. Jones' shot came with two outs in the inning.
The game ended at 3:42 p.m. being played in 1 hour, 49 minutes.
GDW All Performance team from 3A, Area 12 tournament:
Most outstanding performer:
Josi Jones of Hanceville: Jones was 3 for 4 with 2 RBIs, 2 runs scored.
Jones got the win by allowing Vinemont 4 runs on 6 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts.
Hanceville: Kynzlee Farr, Karrigan Pipkin.
Vinemont: Abby Kuykendall, Bryleigh Basinger, Tori Vines
JB Pennington: Raegan Blackwood.
Hanceville was 14 & 16 going into the championship vs. Locust Fork.
Photo of Hanceville Lady Bulldogs' Karrigan Pipkin getting some ice prior to Tuesday's game in the 3A, Area 12 playoffs vs. Vinemont at Locust Fork.
GDW photo by Johnny Thornton.
