Photo courtesy of William Galloway, MBS
Mountain Brook High School's softball seniors. Photo courtesy of William Galloway, MBS.
The Mountain Brook High School softball team completed its season at the Class 6A East Regional this week, finishing a few games shy of a state tournament berth.
The Spartans qualified for regionals for the fifth straight year after winning its area in dominant fashion, then won their second game to make it to the final day.
Mountain Brook lost to Oxford 8-7 in the opening game of the regional tournament, taking the eventual tournament winner to the wire. The Spartans held a 3-2 lead after an inning and rallied to within a run in the fourth inning, but were unable to fully break through over the final few frames. In the contest, leadoff hitter Reagan Rape led the way with three hits. Morgan Minich delivered the big blows for the offense, with two hits and five runs batted in. Marianna Murray also knocked in a run. Mackenzie Wedell threw 5 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.
The Spartans rebounded to earn an 8-7 win over Clay-Chalkville. Mountain Brook led much of the game, but Clay-Chalkville tied the game with six runs in the seventh inning. Addison Presley scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the seventh to earn the walk-off win. Minich had another big game offensively, with three hits and two RBIs. Charlotte Kearse also finished with two hits and two RBIs.
On Tuesday, Gardendale knocked off Mountain Brook 6-1. Murray scored the lone run for the Spartans, while Wedell threw three strong innings in relief.
Mountain Brook finishes the season with a 15-27 record, and graduates three seniors in Anna Kate Shea, Murray and Rape.
