Whitewater softball places second in AAAA championship

The Whitewater Lady Wildcats came close to winning the whole thing this year. Instead, they came up a little short.

Whitewater finished with a record of 38-10, a school record for most wins in a season, and with only two seniors on the roster moving on after graduation, some room for improvement and high expectations for next year.

“We’ve got to get there though and work at it,” head coach Robert Townsend said.

Whitewater kicked off the Class AAAA finals double elimination tournament last Thursday with a 6-2 win over Loganville. Mackenzie Toler allowed seven hits and struck out six in the win. Katie Cannington and Kim Perkins each drove in two runs, while Peyton Roth and Toler each had two hits in the win. Gabby Hunt and Brielle Grubbs both added a hit as well.

In the following game, the Lady Cats lost to Ola 5-4 and that loss, one that got away from the team, may have cost them their best chance at the title. The loss moved them to the loser’s bracket and gave them five games in the tournament leading to the final instead of the three that Northgate played. Whitewater had two outs against Ola with the bases loaded in the seventh and a base hit up the middle gave the Lady Mustangs the win. Cannington drove in two runs in the loss for Whitewater, while Perkins added one and Hunt added the other. Rebecca Stallings and Roth each had two hits.

On Friday, Whitewater beat Madison County 14-1. They got a three run home run from Toler, a two run shot from Perkins, two RBIs from Grubbs and two hits a piece from Stallings, Roth and Perkins, while Kylee Southers went 3-for-4. Whitewater then beat NW Whitfield 7-5. Toler allowed four hits and struck out four. Perkins was 2-for-3 with two RBI, while Cannington added two its and Roth, Toler Hunt, Stallings, Grubbs and Samantha Wilt each addded one.

Whitewater met Ola again on Saturday morning and won 3-1. Toler allowed three hits and struck out seven. Roth was 2-for-3, while Hunt, Cannington, Grubbs and Perkins each had a hit. Grubbs drove in a run in the win.

In the championship game against Northgate, Whitewater lost 4-3 in extra innings. Toler allowed three hits and struck out three batters. Whitewater had 11 hits in the loss, but couldn’t put more runners across. Toler homered in the game, while Grubbs was 3-for-4. Roth had two hits, while Hunt, Perkins, Stallings and Taylor Sturdivant each had a hit.

In the season, Whitewater beat three teams that finshed 2011 as state champions (Gordon Lee -, Collins Hill and Northgate). Of their 10 losses, eight were to teams from region 3-AAAA and the top five in Class AAAAA were all from that region.

“I had a lot of fun coaching softball this year,” Townsend said of his first season coaching softball. Previously, he had coached baseball at Fayette County High School. “The girls worked hard. I think they might work harder than boys do.”

Townsend was pleased with his team’s effort, especially with a lot of youth in several positions. They should be a force to be reckoned with again next season.