Local softball players bring home World Series title

Members of the North Alabama Thunder softball team celebbrate after winning the USSSA 16-and-under Fastpitch World Series. Local team members include Haley Arrington, Hollie Hillman, Brittany Mitchell, Jordan Murray and Olivia Taylor. | Contributed

The North Alabama Thunder softball team had one goal at the start of the season — to win the USSSA 16-and-under Fastpitch World Series.

The team accomplished that goal last week and five local softball players returned home from Columbus, Ind. as champions.

Haley Arrington, Hollie Hillman, Brittany Mitchell, Jordan Murray and Olivia Taylor are members of the Thunder, a travel team consisting of players throughout northern Alabama.

“We challenged them to always leave it on the field,” said Thunder coach Jimmy Taylor. “They went through adversity throughout the tournament, but did not give up.”

Olivia Taylor is the poster child of that adversity. She broke her wrist before the tournament began and did not expect to see much playing time.

She pitched seven innings of relief, allowing only one hit. She saved her biggest moment for last.

With the game tied after seven innings the international tiebreaker rule was applied and a runner was placed on second base. The Thunders two best power hitters were walked and Jimmy Taylor sent Olivia to the plate to pinch hit with the instructions to just make contact.

She had an infield hit to drive home the runner at third and clinch the World Series title.

The victory was not a bad outcome for a team that had played in eight tournaments this season but never finished better than second.

“They wanted the victory and fought hard for the victory,” Jimmy Taylor said. “They improved every tournament and it came together in the World Series — hitting, pitching and base running. It was like it was meant to be.”

He said the Russellville players were key to the victory and their biggest contributions came on defense, which is key in a tournament with so many great players.

Hillman made several catches at the outfield fence that would have allowed opponents to score several runs had she not made the plays.

Arrington’s range allowed her to make crucial plays in the gap between right field and center field.

Mitchell was solid at second base and did not commit any errors during the tournament.

Murray made several key plays at third base, including leaping to catch a line drive in the late innings of a tied game.

“Our defense was the key to every thing. We didn’t give up many runs at all,” Jimmy Taylor said. “When you play at this level of softball, defense rules.”

The Thunder opened the tournament on a sour note with a 4-1 loss in pool play. They rebounded and won their other three games in pool play by a combined score of 13-1 to earn a No. 2 seed in the tournament.

North Alabama began tournament play with a 10-6 victory followed by a 6-1 win. The Thunder won the next game 4-3 in extra innings and the following game 6-5 also in extra innings to reach the semifinals.

In the semifinals North Alabama beat the MBS Jets from Michigan 4-1 to earn a spot in the title game. The MBS Jets fought back through the losers’ bracket to set up a rematch for the championship.

North Alabama fell behind 1-0, but a solo home run tied the game. The score eventually went to 2-2 before Olivia Taylor’s hit in the bottom of the eighth inning secured the championship.

In addition to the World Series title, the Thunder also won the tournament’s sportsmanship award.

Jimmy Taylor said the key to his team’s victory was their dedication. With practices alternating between Russellville and Cullman it would have been easy for players living near the Georgia border to skip practice, but they never did.

“One player traveled two hours and 45 minutes to Russellville to practice,” Jimmy Taylor said. “The dedication of this team is phenomenal. It tells you a little about the character of this team.”

That dedication remained when the team reached the World Series. While other teams spent down time swimming and having fun, the Thunder spent its down time in batting cages and on the practice field.

Jimmy Taylor said the team’s dedication went a long way in securing the victory, but the help he received from assistant coaches and the community was equally helpful.

Assistant coaches Howard Hillman, Randy Arrington, Randy Halcomb and Mark Mitchell helped prepare the team during pre-game warm-ups.

He also wanted to thank Russellville coaches Ted Ikerd and Doug Goodwin along with Russellville City Schools Superintendent Don Cox and the Russellville School Board for allowing the team to practice at the school’s facilities.

“We appreciate using Russellville’s facilities, including the indoor batting cages,” Jimmy Taylor said. “If not for that, we would not have been able to reach our goal.”

He also wanted to thank all the sponsors for helping make this season possible.

The Thunder will be holding tryouts for the up coming fall season. Any players — age 16-and-under — who are interesting in scheduling a tryout should contact Taylor at (256) 324-1123.