Community R-6 softball missed its chance for a postseason run after allowing Clopton too many chances on Saturday.

Community R-6 vs Clopton Districts Photo Gallery

The sixth-ranked Lady Trojans had the top seed in the Class 1 District 4 tournament at Westran in Huntsville but couldn’t make it past their first game after11 walks and three errors contributed to a 12-10 loss to No. 8 seed Clopton. Community (22-10) had a 7-1 lead after three innings only for Clopton to chip away until a seven-run sixth inning gave Community the disadvantage.

The “final blow,” as head coach Kendra Murphy called it, was when Clopton (6-15-1) scored two runs for a 12-10 lead in the seventh inning when Jasmine Hammett managed to slide under catcher Brooklynn Glasgow’s tag on a bunt play by Ashlyn Noah and then Karsyn Hallows dove head first into home while the Lady Trojans worked through confusion on defense. Still, Murphy said that play resulted from having many Lady Hawks on base in the game via 11 walks and from Community making too many defensive mistakes, including three errors, leading up to the final inning.

“Our defense was not on at all,” Murphy said. “J(ocelyn Curtis) was struggling quite a bit today, which normally doesn’t happen. We needed them to back her up, and they didn’t.”

Clopton started cutting into Community’s 7-1 lead in the fourth inning with one run and then added another in the fifth inning thanks to an error. The sixth inning was a long one for the Lady Trojans as they committed another error and tossed a pair of wild pitches to tie the game at 7. Brooke Jarrett doubled down the right field line to score two, and Rileigh Kuntz added another with a single.

Both teams had to deal with less than ideal weather conditions as temperatures were in the 50s with cloud cover, wind and a light rain. Murphy said temperatures are typically colder when districts roll around as Clopton’s freshman pitcher Noah finished with six walks to counter the Community’s sophomore 10 walks.

“At this time of year, it’s one of those things that anything can happen,” Murphy said. “We play the best when we keep runners off base, so when they’re getting the leadoff runner on just about every inning and follow-up at-bat, it makes playing defense really tough.”

The loss happening in districts means the careers of Community’s four seniors come to an end. Glasgow, Alyssa Beamer, Taylor Johnson and Paige Painter played a big role in the Lady Trojans winning a single-game school record of 22 games while winning their fourth conference title in five years. Community played to an undefeated record in the Central Activities Conference in every one of those championship seasons, including this year when it won a 3-2 clincher against No. 3 seed Cairo.

The seniors made some final marks on Saturday as Painter, who led the team this year with four home runs, crushed a bases-clearing double in the six-run second inning and added to her totalas the team’s RBI leader. Amy McCurdy hit a RBI triple in the inning as well for a 2-for-5 day at the plate, and Peyton Schafer added a RBI single.

All six of those runs were scored with two outs and Community had nine two-out runs all game. Glasgow had a RBI double in the second inning and was counted upon in a big spot in the sixth inning. The Lady Trojans trailed 10-8 in the sixth inning with two outs and Glasgow already had two strikes against her, but this didn’t deter the senior catcher as she roped a game-tying double into left field. Glasgow finished 3-for-4 and was 6-for-13 with four RBI and four walks in her final week as a Lady Trojan.

“Those two have been staples in our offense all season long,” Murphy said. “For them to step up and come up big in big situations is key.”

Murphy really wanted to see what the Lady Trojans this year could do deeper in the district bracket but have to accept that it’s over. Regardless, she said her players can have some pride.

“They have a lot to be proud of — conference champions, setting the school record for the most wins,” Murphy said. “A lot of people will say, ‘You set the school record for the most wins because you played more games.’ We won 20 games when we had played 25 games. They have played 25 games (in high school softball) forever. They have a lot of things to be proud of.”