OXFORD – Jasper High School arrived at Choccolocco Park on Thursday needing four straight victories, including two in a row over Moody, to win the Class 5A state softball championship.
That’s exactly what the Vikings did.
Emma Lou Frank’s RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning scored pinch-runner America Montgomery from third base to give Jasper a 3-2 victory over Moody in the Class 5A championship game, ending a marathon run to the school’s first fast-pitch title.
Jasper – then known as Walker High – won slow-pitch titles in 1994, 1995 and 1996 before making the switch to fast-pitch.
Moody (29-17) – also trying to win its first state softball championship – earned three wins Wednesday in the double-elimination tournament, as the Blue Devils beat Marbury 6-1, defeated Hayden 5-0 and knocked off Alexandria 10-4. While Jasper fought through the elimination bracket by beating Rehobeth and Alexandria, the Blue Devils rested and waited.
Jasper (34-7-1) slugged its way to a 16-11 win over Moody to force a winner-take-all finale in the double-elimination tournament. Jasper scored twice in the second inning, and Moody answered with two runs in the fifth of the final game.
The Vikings opened the bottom of the seventh inning with back-to-back hits, and Frank delivered the game-winner to score Montgomery. Frank finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Makenzie Adams also drove in a run.
Moody’s Ryleigh Hodges drove in a run, while Emma Kile and Taylor Rogers scored runs.
Tournament MVP Missy Odom struck out six and allowed six hits to earn the championship victory in the circle. She pitched four complete games Thursday.
Jasper also won the Class 5A girls’ state basketball championship – the school’s first – in early March, and Odom was named the Class 5A basketball player of the year.
Here’s a look at the other Class 5A games from Thursday:
Class 5A
Jasper 16, Moody 11
Missy Odom drove in three runs with a first-inning double and finished with four RBIs as Jasper forced an if-necessary game. Odom also pitched a complete game to earn the win.
The teams combined for 29 hits and drew 11 walks in the slugfest.
Jasper’s Ashlyn Tucker also had three hits and three RBIs, Idaysia Mercer had two hits, two RBIs and four runs scored, and pinch-runner America Montgomery scored three times.
Moody’s Lacey Nichols and Abi Gray led the Blue Devils’ offense with two hits and two RBIs apiece, and Kennedy Hockman drove in three runs.
Jasper 6, Rehobeth 1
Jasper scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and three more in the sixth to eliminate Rehobeth. Ashlyn Tucker drove in a run and finished 2-for-3 at the plate for the Vikings (31-7-1). Missy Odom scattered four hits over seven innings to get the pitching victory, and she struck out nine.
Jasper 4, Alexandria 1
Jasper scored three times in the top of the seventh inning to grab a 4-0 lead, and Alexandria answered with a single run in the bottom of the frame. The win sent the Vikings to the Class 5A championship series.
Isabella Brown, Ashlyn Tucker and Brinlee Clark each drove in runs for Jasper. Missy Odom struck out 10 and allowed a run off five hits in the complete-game pitching victory.
