In their 2011 area softball tournament in Excel, the T.R. Miller Lady Tiger used a late rally over Clarke County to advance to the championship game and to the regionals in Gulf Shores.
In their 2012 tournament, their would be no rally as Clarke County ended the season for the Lady Tigers without a trip to Gulf Shores this year.
The Lady Tigers opened their tournament Tuesday with a 5-3 win over Clarke County before falling into the loser’s bracket with an 11-1 loss to the host Lady Panthers of Excel.
Needing another win over Clarke County to meet up with Excel in the championship game and to clinch a spot in the regionals in Gulf Shores next week as either the area champion or runner-up, Clarke County edged out T.R. Miller 9-7.
The win ended the season for T.R. Miller with a 20-14 record.
“We had opportunities but just did not get the hit when we needed it,” T.R. Miller Lady Tiger head coach Greg White said of his Lady Tigers after their second game against Clarke County. “We didn’t play horrible, but the few errors we did make, they hurt us. I give Clarke County credit, they hit the ball. We just could not get that hit and we had a lot of base running errors. That really hurt us.”
White said his team would get back to work this summer after taking a few days off.
“We will get back in the weight room and do what we always do,” he said. “We will work to stay where we are and get better. It was a tough season this year. I knew losing five seniors from last year’s team, it would be difficult. We started out 12-0 and exceeded our expectations and towards the middle of the season, it kind of hit us with our growing pains. We really fought hard all season. We would shake the lineup up at times trying to get the right combination. The kids kept fighting. We were just a young team with two seniors and kind of caught up there with us at the end.”
White and the Lady Tigers lose two seniors this season in Leah Brundidge and Taylor Guthrie.
“As for my seniors, they have done a lot of T.R. Miller softball,” White said. “They played more than any other kid that has worn the uniform before. I love them to death and will be missed. They played as hard as they can. I love them to death for it.”

Game one: TRM 5, CCHS 3
In their first game of the tournament against Clarke County, the Lady Tigers came away with a 5-3 win.
T.R. Miller led 3-1 after the first inning but after they had their lead cut in the second inning with Clarke County tying the game at 3-all, T.R. Miller held CCHS scoreless the remainder of the game and added two in the third to get the win by two.
“I told them before the game today that if we just make the routine plays, which we did, we had a chance to win the game,” White said. “Last time we played Clarke County (in the regular season), we lost by 10 and had nine errors. Today we may have had one or two but they were spread out and didn’t kill us. That is basic softball and baseball right there. We swung the bats well at times and Taylor Austin did a nice job on the mound for a seventh grader. She threw strikes and we made the routine plays behind her to get the win.”
Austin went the distance on the mound and allowed four hits, three runs, one earned, walked four and struck out two.
At the plate, Audrey Hamric was 1-for-3 and Brundidge was 2-for-3. Guthrie was 2-for-3 with a double and one RBI and Kelsey Thompson had one RBI. Takeysia McFugerson was 3-for-3 with a double and an inside-the-park homerun and three RBIs while Lauren Ward was 1-for-3.

Game two: Excel 11, TRM 1
Errors and the lack of hitting in their second game of the tournament cost T.R. Miller in an 11-1 loss to Excel.
The Lady Tigers were held to one hit and made seven errors in the 10-run loss in six innings.
Scoreless through two innings, Excel took a 2-0 lead after the third inning and a 4-0 lead after four. T.R. Miller scored one in the top of the fifth, but Excel plated four each in the next two innings to get the win.
Brundidge had the lone hit going 1-for-3.
Laurel Billy took the loss on the mound going 5 1/3 innings and allowed five hits, 11 runs, five earned, walked eight and struck out none.
“We made too many errors and walked too many batters and gave away too many free bases,” White said. “That adds up to 11 points. You can’t put them on base free and when you do put them on base, you have to get them out and not make errors.”

Game three: CCHS 9, T.R. Miller 7
In an elimination game, Clarke County avenged the earlier loss to T.R. Miller as they came away with a 9-7 win to end the season for the Lady Tigers.
Last year the Lady Tigers were in the same situation as this year (defeated Clarke County in game one, lost to Excel in game two and faced Clarke County in a third game).
In the rematch last year with Clarke County, the Lady Tigers scored four runs in the seventh inning with two outs to turn a 4-3 deficit into a 7-4 win and stay alive in the tournament.
This year, Clarke County led 2-0 after the first inning and after T.R. Miller took a 4-2 lead in the top of the second, Clarke County used a five-run second inning to take a 7-4 lead. Clarke County increased their lead to 8-4 in the fourth inning but T.R. Miller plated three runs to cut the lead to 8-7 heading into the bottom of the fifth. Clarke County would get one more run in the inning to lead by two and held T.R. Miller scoreless in the sixth and seventh innings to get the win.
Austin took the loss as she allowed eight hits, nine runs, three earned, walked four, hit one and struck out two.
At the plate for T.R. Miller, Hamric had a single along with Brundidge. Krystal bell had a single while Kesley Thompson had two singles. McFugerson added a double along with Lauren Ward. Hannah Weaver had a single along with Ali Taylor and Abbi Roberts had three singles. Weaver, McFugerson, and Jessica Allan all had RBIs while Roberts had two.