Lady Rebels place 3rd in tourney
By Sam Waller
The Albany Lady Rebels 12U softball team finished third last weekend at the USA District 11 tournament, played Friday-Sunday, May 19-21 at Abilene.
The Rebels went 6-2 for the weekend, coming within a game of playing for the championship in the 22-team field.
“Everything those girls had, they left it on the field,” Rebels coach Beth Roysdon said. “Tate Thompson and I are both extremely proud of them. They worked their tails off and deserved every bit of it.”
The Rebels went 4-0 over the first two days of play to earn one of the final four spots in the winners bracket with another four teams still alive in the losers bracket, then played four games starting at 8:00 a.m. Sunday before being eliminated.
The day started with a 3-1 loss to Wylie Purple, but the Rebels defeated Wylie Grey and Haskell Arrows in back-to-back games, winning both 8-3, to reach the losers bracket final. Their tournament run was ended with a second loss to Wylie Purple.
“This is the furthest this group of girls has gone,” Roysdon said. “It meant a lot to them. Each game we played, they were in control and cheered each other on the entire time.”
Roysdon said the Rebels executed in all every aspect, from pitching and defense to batting and baserunning.
At the plate, MacKenzee Roysdon hit three home runs, Sawyer Shoaf hit two, and Hailey Gleitz also connected.
Kynlee Milligan had a bases-loaded triple with Karter Thompson, Avery Gleitz, and Tinley Hefner also collecting three-baggers.
“We had lots of RBIs and singles and doubles hit as well,” Beth Roysdon said. “Their bats really came alive and baserunning was nearly perfect.”
Corinne Evans and Hefner handled the pitching load, with Karter Thompson catching.
“They kept control of the games,” Beth Roysdon said. “Karter got us a lot of outs throwing out runners.”
The rest of the defense made plays, as well.
“Defense was extremely strong,” Beth Roysdon said. “Sawyer Shoaf, Kynlee Milligan, Avery Gleitz, Tinley Hefner, and Hailey Gleitz caught several pop flys. Tinley Hefner, Hailey Gleitz, Karter Thompson, and MacKenzee Roysdon put several runners in a pickle between third and home where they were tagged out, not allowing runs.”
While the Rebels fell short of their ultimate goal, it was a successful tournament for the team, Beth Roysdon said.
“This is something the girls earned, worked hard for, and never gave up on,” she said. “They went into this tournament with their hearts set on playing in the championship. Even though they finished third, they were proud to place.”
