Monday’s area softball contest between Stanhope Elmore and Wetumpka carried a palpable intensity through three innings.
With bleachers overflowing with patrons at Stanhope’s softball field, constant ear-ringing cheers from both dugouts and jeers from both crowds rang out as the teams were tied 1-1 entering the fourth inning before a yellow-orange sunset.
That conflicted heavily with the scene in the seventh inning after night fell when Lily Gray, Jasmine Russell and Mya Holt hit back-to-back-to-back home runs to extend Wetumpka’s 8-1 lead to 13-1.
“It was fun. It was explosive,” Wetumpka head coach Daryl Otwell said. “Any time you see a ball fly that far it just brings excitement to everybody. It was a good final touch to end the night for sure.”
After surging ahead with a five-run fourth inning, the Indians rode away to clinch a regular-season area title Monday. They’ll host the area tournament as its No. 1 seed when postseason play starts next week.
It’s a minor goal achieved for the team, Otwell said, but a goal nonetheless.
“It was a big game tonight because of Stanhope,” Otwell said. “It’s a big rivalry, Wetumpka-Stanhope. But as far as moving forward, it’s a small goal that we had. We set goals early in the year, a small one is to host. But the goals that we have in mind and what we’re wanting to move forward to in this program — it’s just a small step.”
Ashlynn Campbell finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored while Savannah Shoemaker finished her day a perfect 4-for-4.
Katie Kramer and Kelbi Johnson each went 2-for-3 for the Mustangs in defeat.
Savannah Wyatt started out pitching for Stanhope and was able to hold one of Elmore County’s more potent offenses to one unearned run through her first three innings of work.
“I thought early on, we had a lot of runners in scoring position and didn’t really get that hit,” Otwell said. “Then the fourth we executed a few bunts and ran the bases well did a lot of good things there and kind of got the ball rolling.”
Shoemaker and Watson kicked off the fourth with back-to-back singles, then both came home to score on a fielding error and a Kaylyn Richardson single.
Campbell stepped to the box and bunted her way aboard, but an errant throw from first to third after she was called safe allowed not just Richardson to score, but also Campell. Wetumpka led 6-1.
The Indians tacked on additional runs in the fifth and sixth innings before the trio of seventh-inning blasts generated five additional ticks to their score column and the 13-1 final.
“Top to bottom, we feel like we’ve got a very strong lineup,” Otwell said. “We’ve got a lot of girls who swing the bat well, have really good at-bats.”
Wetumpka will play Chilton County Tuesday and Central Thursday ahead of area tournament action next weekend.
