GALLERY: Straughn, Andalusia, Red Level compete in KLD tourney

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LEFT: Taya Newton gets under a flyball to record an out against Straughn. Newton was a big source of offense for the Lady Bulldogs hitting for the cycle with a single, double, triple, and homerun over the course of the tournament. RIGHT: Kailey Jackson pitched a six-inning shut out in Andalusia’s win over Straughn on Friday. Jackson pitched a total of three shutouts in the tournament. (PHOTOS BY ROBERT BLANKENSHIP)

LEFT: Amaya Williams fields a groundball and sends the ball to first to record an out for the Red Level Lady Tigers. RIGHT: Lucy Owens sends a pitch to home plate in Red Level’s opening game against Ariton. (PHOTOS BY ROBERT BLANKENSHIP)

LEFT: McKena Bailey takes a big swing for a double against Andalusia in the opening game of the tournament. RIGHT: Jaycee Norton held Andalusia scoreless through five innings, striking out 11 Lady Bulldogs, to open the tournament Friday afternoon. (PHOTOS BY ROBERT BLANKENSHIP)

Straughn High School hosted its annual Kirsten L. Dean Memorial Softball Tournament Friday and Saturday with five teams participating, including the host team, Andalusia, and Red Level.

The games played on Friday were held at Johnson Park while games scheduled for Saturday were canceled due to a threat of inclement weather.

Andalusia 2, Straughn 0
Andalusia’s Kailey Jackson and Straughn’s Jaycee Norton each had strong performances in the circle for the opening game of the tournament, each holding the opposing offenses scoreless through five innings.

In the tournament, if the teams are tied going into the sixth, a runner is placed on second base to begin the inning. The Lady Bulldogs took advantage and broke the scoreless streak in the top of the sixth with two runs. Jackson held the Lady Tigers in the bottom of the inning to secure the 2-0 victory.

Lady Bulldog Austin Seal was placed on second base to start the inning and a bunt-single by Blakelyn Bass put runners at the corner. Taya Newton followed with an infield single, bringing Seal home for a 1-0 lead. Bass made it 2-0 when she came home on a bunt by Madi Everett.

With a runner placed at second, Adalyn Till singled, representing the tying run on base. But, the Andalusia defense turned a double play that helped secure the victory.

Both Jackson and Norton pitched complete games for their teams. Jackson gave up four hits with eight strikeouts for Andalusia while Norton also surrendered only four hits while strking out 11 batters.

Red Level 1, Ariton 18
Ariton rode a big second inning to a victory over Red Level, 18-1, Friday afternoon.

After jumping out to a 2-0 edge after the first inning, the Lady Purple Cats scored 14 in the second to take a commanding 16-0 lead.

Red Level scored its only run in the bottom of the third when Zoey Phillips hit a line drive that was mishandled by the pitcher. Greer Meeks reached on a fielder’s choice with the lead runner out at second. Meeks went on to steal second and take third on an error. She scored on a groundball by Kamry Lambert.

Emmie Snider got the start for Red Level, striking out three in two innings. Lucy Owens pitched one inning in relief.

Andalusia 6, Red Level 0
Jackson kept her scoreless streak going into Andalusia’s second game of the tournament as the Lady Bulldogs defeated Red Level, 6-0.

Andalusia jumped to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Taya Newton led off with a double and then scored on a bunt single by Madi Everett, who later scored on an error. Stella Wells scored the third run on a single by Jessa Ann Dubose.

Andalusia increased its lead to 5-0 on a two-run homer by Newton, also scoring Blakelyn Bass who singled earlier in the inning. The final run scored a few batters later when Everett scored on an error.

Jackson recorded five strikeouts and gave up two hits for the Lady Bulldogs.

Caroline Blackwell had a strikeout and gave up seven hits in the circle for Red Level.

Newton led the offense for the Lady Bulldogs, hitting a double and a homerun, scored twice and drove in two.

Kayden Lord and Zoey Phillips each had hits for Red Level.

Straughn 2, Pike Liberal Arts 3
The host team came up short in a close contest against Pike Lib Friday evening, falling 3-2.

Pike Lib took a 1-0 lead in the first on a single and double.

Straughn equaled that in the bottom of the first. Annlee Wise reached on a walk on a single and came home on a single by Sophie Pettus.

The Lady Tigers took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second when Layla Walker, who earned a walk, scored on a grounder by Bailey.

Pike Lib hit a double and single to begin the third, tying the game 2-2. An error later in the inning provided them the winning run, 3-2, as neither team would score in the final two innings.

Jaycee Norton pitched two innings as the starter for Straughn, giving up one run on two hits with two strikeouts. Bailey pitched the final three innings, giving up two runs on three hits while striking out three.

Adalyn Till had two hits for the Lady Tigers while Pettus went 1-for-2 with an RBI.

Andalusia 4, Ariton 0
Jackson continued to roll in the circle for Andalusia, pitching her third shutout of the tournament as Andalusia downed Ariton, 4-0.

Newton led off the game by reaching on an error. Jackson came through on offense with a two-out double, giving Andalusia a 1-0 edge. Jackson scored on a single by Dubose, increasing the lead to 2-0.

Ariton started the bottom of the first with a lead-off double, but two strikeouts and a ground ball kept them off the board.

Newton continued to be hot at the plate helping Andalusia add to its lead in the top of the third. After hitting a triple to left field, Newton made it 3-0 on a groundball by Sara Katherine Reese. Jackson followed with a single and she scored the final run of the game on a double by Dubose.

Jackson surrendered three hits and had four strikeouts in the four-inning contest.

At the plate, Jackson had two hits and an RBI while Dubose collected two hits and drove in two runs. Both batters had doubles. Newton hit a triple and scored twice.

Red Level 2, Pike Liberal Arts 6
Red Level and Pike Lib remained scoreless through two innings before the Lady Patriots took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third.

Red Level came right back in the bottom of the inning as Amaya Williams hit a triple to left and scored on an error that also allowed Emmie Snider to reach base. A line-drive double to left by Payten Martin brought Snider home to make the score 2-2 at the end of three innings.

The game remained tied until the sixth when Pike Lib put together four runs and then held Red Level in the bottom of that inning to secure the 6-2 win.

With the results of the tournament, Straughn’s record stood at 6-6, Andalusia improved to 12-4, and Red Level was 8-9.