Lady Rebels end successful season; Rebels advance to 3rd round
BY KATIE MCELVY
THE LAFAYETTE SUN
LAFAYETTE — The Chambers Academy softball and baseball teams made their presence felt in their respective postseasons, with the Lady Rebels finishing third overall in AISA Class AA and the Rebels earning a gritty playoff series win over Bessemer Academy.
Lady Rebels Softball
The Lady Rebels entered the eight-team AISA AA State Softball Tournament ranked as a one seed after capturing the region championship last weekend. First, they easily put away Southern Academy 12-4. Payton Earl went 4-for-4 at the plate while Samantha Lovelace got the win in the circle with seven strikeouts.
The Lady Rebels then faced Bessemer Academy, who was ranked as the No. 1 team in AISA. Chambers came up short in the game, falling 6-2. This loss handed them a tough schedule on day two battling through the loser’s bracket.
On day two of the tournament, the Lady Rebels first faced Monroe Academy. Chambers jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, but Monroe had a big third inning and took a 4-1 lead. In the bottom of the inning with one runner on, Allie Paschal homered to cut the Lady Vols’ lead to 4-3. Blakely Allen and Ansley Carter then followed up with singles to tie up the game.
Monroe added two more runs in the fourth. Emmalee Jackson and Tinley Benefield singled to set up RBIs for both Paschal and Carter to once again tie the game.
Paschal hit another two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to give Chambers the lead going into the final inning. Monroe once again tied it in the top of the seventh, but with two outs and two runners on, Benefield hit a fly ball to center field to give Chambers the 10-8 walk off win.
In the next game, the Lady Rebels faced an early 2-0 deficit against Lowndes Academy. Madison Stanford singled, and Earl doubled to set up another Benefield RBI, making the score 2-1.
Lowndes added another run in the fourth, but the Lady Rebels were able to answer as Carter, Abigail Downey, Sophie Price, Jackson and Stanford were able to get base hits while Earl doubled to give Chambers a 5-3 lead. Lowndes’ seventh inning rally came up short as the Lady Rebels sealed the 5-4 win. Lovelace recorded another win in the circle with five strikeouts.
Chambers then faced Clarke Prep with the loser going home and the winner facing Bessemer in the championship game. The Lady Gators started off strong, putting up five runs in the first inning. Chambers chipped away at the lead by adding three runs in the top of the second.
Earl and Paschal both doubled in the third to give the game a close 5-4 score. Then, in the top of the fifth with the tying run on first, Benefield homered to give Chambers a 6-5 lead.
Clarke Prep then took a 9-6 lead in the bottom of the sixth. Earl once again doubled in the top of the seventh. Paschal recorded an RBI single to put the Lady Rebels within two, but the rally came up short, and Chambers was eliminated from the tournament, finishing third in the state. The Lady Rebels ended their season with a 33-8 record.
Rebel Baseball
The Rebels faced Bessemer Academy in a best-of-three series with the winner advancing to the third round of the state playoffs. Chambers scored six runs in the third inning to take a 7-0 lead. Landon Hand singled, and Phillip Belcher doubled to increase the Rebel lead to 9-0 in the fourth. Bessemer added a score in the fifth, but Peyton Yerta hit a two-run homer over the left field wall to run rule Bessemer and get the win in the first game. Colton Fuller got the win on the mound.
The second game proved disastrous for the Rebels. After Chambers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, Bessemer came roaring back picking up seven runs in the bottom of the inning. Bessemer would go on to win the game 15-5 to force a game three.
In the winner-take-all third game, defense prevailed for both teams as the game went scoreless through the first two innings. Bryce Modling doubled then Colton Fuller singled in the third to give Chambers a 2-0 lead.
Eli Whorton drove in a run in the bottom of the fifth, and Chambers held Bessemer scoreless going into the top of the seventh. With two runners on, the Bessemer batter popped out to Yerta, who turned a double play to second baseman Tucker Anderson. With the bases loaded, Bessemer singled to drive in a run and cut the Rebel lead to two. With the bases still loaded, Bessemer then hit a choppy ground ball to Modling. In what could be the play of the year, Modling fielded the ball and with sheer grit and determination, launched himself to make the tag at home plate before the runner, getting the final out and sending the Rebels to the third round.
Modling got the win on the mound, striking out six batters.
Chambers will now face Southern Academy in a best-of-three series with the winner advancing to the state championship. The Rebels are 1-1 against Southern this season.
