RCHS falls in first two games at state tournament
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RCHS catcher Hannah Parmer rounds third to score the Lady Tigers’ only run in their 9-1 loss to Madison Academy at the 3A state tournament in Oxford Thursday.
RCHS entered its second appearance in the 3A state tournament Thursday seeking the school’s first win on the state’s biggest stage. They’ll leave Oxford with that quest unfinished as they dropped both games to end their season.
The silver lining is that all but one of the players on this team will be back next season, and they probably won’t have to wait long to have another opportunity at that first state tournament win.
RCHS fell to two-time defending state champion Wicksburg 5-1 in its opener Thursday morning, then was eliminated 9-1 against Madison Academy.
Against Wicksburg, senior pitcher Ellie Cox was a thorn in RCHS’s side. She started the game with four hitless innings in the circle and delivered the game’s decisive hit with a second-inning grand slam.
RCHS plated one run in the fifth against relief pitcher Kynlee Holland, thanks to an RBI single by third baseman Kinsley Weathers. That ended up being the only hit in the game for the Lady Tigers, who got two runners on in the seventh against Holland before Cox came back in the game and got the final three outs.
Madison Academy scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning in the second game for the Lady Tigers, then added four in the second to build a demoralizing 7-0 lead early.
RCHS had better success at the plate as compared to game one, but still struggled to get runs to the plate. Hannah Parmer’s double into the left field corner in the fourth inning was booted around in the outfield and Parmer came all the way around to score the Lady Tigers’ only run.
Parmer, who was the offensive hero of the regional in Albertville last week, went 3-for-3 in the second game. Gracie Huckeba, the lone RCHS senior, was 2-for-3 in her final game for the Lady Tigers. She has signed to play with Southern Union next season.
Weathers had the only other hit for RCHS against Madison Academy pitcher Cataryna Schreiber.
Eighth-grader Khloe Yates pitched the final four innings against Madison Academy and held the Lady Mustangs to one earned run on two hits and a walk, with three strikeouts.
It was another successful season for RCHS, which was in the tournament for the second straight year after making it for the first time in school history last year. They finish the season 24-10, with a third straight area championship under their belt as well.
The team will return eight of their nine starters for next season, led by the sophomore Parmer and junior pitcher Abi Waters. Weathers, a junior, came on strong in the postseason. And Yates and Bryer Thompson lead a group of younger underclassmen that will build on their experiences from this year.
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