By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director
ALBERTVILLE – Just last week, the Cherokee County Lady Warriors experienced a gut check. They won the Class 4A, Area 12 softball tournament by coming through the losers bracket to clinch their spot in the East Regional at Sand Mountain Park in Albertville.
They were faced with the same scenario on Friday, and they did it again.
Cherokee County won three games out of the losers bracket to secure the second qualifier spot in next week’s state tournament in Oxford. It’s the first state tournament appearance for the Lady Warriors since 2018.
On Friday, Cherokee County defeated Corner in a steady rain 11-6, then claimed a 7-4 decision over Cordova to set up a rematch with Madison County.
Madison County put the Lady Warriors out of the regional tournament last season, and it defeated Cherokee County on Thursday, but the Lady Warriors were determined to get some redemption.
The Lady Warriors took a three-run first-inning lead, but Madison County battled back to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Lady Warriors responded by sending 11 batters to the plate and scored six runs in the top of the fifth inning, helping them earn a 9-5 victory.
“I just kept referring back to what we did last week in the area tournament,” Cherokee County coach Brad Weaver said. “We had to do the same thing to be area champs. I was like ‘Girls, you’ve got three in a row in you. You just proved it (last week). It doesn’t matter who we face, you can do it if you put your mind to it.’ These girls, just like last week in the area tournament, were resilient. They refused to lose. We played ball today and we played very well.”
Junior Abby Lea earned the win in the Cordova and Madison County games. Against Madison County, she allowed four earned runs on nine hits with a walk and a strikeout. She also went 3-for-4 at the plate, scored a run and drove in another.
“We knew coming into today it was going to be a long day,” Lea said. “We knew we had to win three. We’ve worked hard all season and we just knew we had to come out here and do it.
“I knew I had a job to do and I wasn’t going to let them down. I knew I had to pull my strings and them pull theirs. I think before the game we all just put in our minds we weren’t losing. When you put something in your mind, you’re going to make it happen. That’s what we did. We were like ‘We cannot lose. We’re going to dig deep and use everything inside of us to win this ball game.”
Junior center fielder Anna Walker walked and delivered a two-run double in the first inning against Madison County to help set the tone for the Lady Warriors. She finished the game with three RBIs.
Junior catcher Lanie Williams went a collective 6-for-10 and was hit by two pitches for the day. She was 4-for-4 with a double in the morning win over Corner.
Williams now joins older sisters Emily and Aubrie as a state tournament participant.
“I get to follow in their steps,” Williams said. “They went to the losers bracket and they had to win their way through and they went to state. They were just like ‘Y’all have got this. We did that too. We went through the losers bracket and won it and went to state.’
“It just feels good to go to Oxford. It’s my junior year and we haven’t gone in my three years. It feels good to finally get to go.”
Like Lea, Williams was confident the Lady Warriors could pull off three wins on Friday, including against Madison County.
“We just had that grit that they weren’t going to put us out this year,” Williams said. “They beat us (Thursday) and that put us in the losers bracket. We knew we had to fight back and we knew we were going to see them again in this game. We just knew we had to beat them to get our chance to go to state.”
And beat them they did.
“Our confidence was huge,” Weaver said. “We wanted them again. I love that they got a chance to prove themselves and they did. Last year we made it to this same game and got beat by that team. We had a whole lot against us against Madison County. They beat us three times here. They’re the ones who beat us twice last year. They beat us last night. It just takes a lot of resiliency from the girls to grow and say ‘I’m not going to get beat.’ They were just ready to roll.”
The Lady Warriors now roll on to Oxford’s Choccolocco Park, where they will take on South Regional champion Houston Academy on Friday at 10:45 a.m.
“I’m so proud. I don’t even have words,” Lea said. “It’s an amazing feeling. We’ve never been there before with this group. It’s my first time ever going to state. I’m so excited.”
Grayson Tucker led the Lady Warriors at the plate against Cordova, going 3-for-4 with a double, a run and a RBI. Lea was 2-for-4 with a run and a RBI. Macy Lea also had a pair of hits, including a double, with two runs and a RBI. Bristol Bass went 2-for-2 with a walk, a run and two RBIs.
In the win over Corner, Abby Lea, Samantha Stubbs and Walker each tripled. Abby Lea also walked, scored twice and drove in a pair of runs. Walker walked twice, scored two runs and drove in one. Stubbs scored a run. Tucker earned the win after working five innings. She finished with four strikeouts.
