By Marla Jones, Sports Editor

marla@southerntorch.com

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — On Thursday, May 17, 2018, the Plainview Lady Bears softball team stepped onto the field in hopes of bringing the blue State Championship trophy home to Rainsville.

In the first game of the series, the Lady Bears defeated Pleasant Valley 6-2.

Plainview fell to Prattville Christrian 6-4 in the second game of the day, putting the Lady Bears into the losers bracket.  Plainview was faced with the daunting task of winning five consecutive games on Friday to win the state title.

On Friday, Plainview defeated Lauderdale County, 10-8.  The standouts of the game were Tobi Trotter who went 4-for-5 with three singles, a double and three runs scored. Bailey Smart was 2-for-3 with two walks and three RBI’s.  Ava Jacobs finished the game 3-for-4 with three RBI’s.

Plainview then brutally attacked Locust Fork, defeating them 15-0.  The mercy rule was applied in just four innings.

In the third game of the day at Lagoon Park in Montgomery, the Lady Bears nearly cinched a sport in the title game as they faced Geneva.

Geneva scored ahead early and the Lady Bears answered in the second with Krimson Kidd scored due to error in the Geneva’s infield.

In the fourth, the Lady Bears took an 8-6 lead, thanks to some heavy hitters.

At the top of the fifth, the first five batters all got on base and took back the lead, 12-8.

In the bottom of the sixth, Kenzi Traylor led off with a single and scored by a RBI from Ava Jacobs, cutting the lead to only three points.

In the seventh, Jacey Crowell looked like a professional as she nabbed the homerun from Geneva by diving to catch the ball in right-center field.

The Lady Bears went down in the seventh to end with a third place finish in the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) Class 3A State Tournament.

Plainview’s own Kenzi Traylor was named to the Class 3A All-State Tournament Team.  Traylor finished the tournament going 12-for-20 from the plate.  From the mound, she pitched 6 ⅔ innings.