The T.R. Miller Lady Tigers softball team saw their 2014 season come to an end Saturday in Gulf Shores as they suffered an 8-3 loss to Straughn. T.R. Miller finished their season with a 20-10 record.
The Lady Tigers opened play in the regionals Friday with a 3-1 win over Pike County. In their second game Friday, T.R. Miller lost 10-0 to Geneva in five innings to fall in the loser’s bracket. Saturday’s loss to Straughn ended T.R. Miller’s season.
T.R. Miller’s 2014 softball team saw 15 players finish out the season with two being seniors, one junior, no sophomores, four freshmen, five eighth graders and three seventh graders.
Moriah Brundidge and Abbi Roberts were the two seniors while Krystal Bell is the lone junior.
Caitlyn Smith, Madison Douglas, Taylor Austin and Grace Jennings are all freshmen while Anna Kate Brittain, Steel Ruzic, Morgan Longmire, Mary Madison Peace and Myra Reiss are eighth graders.
Gabbi Soloman, Madison Floyd and Anna Grace White are the seventh graders.
“We won 20 games with two seniors and one junior and a bunch of young kids,” T.R. Miller Lady Tiger head coach Greg White said. “I will take that any day of the week. We won the area championship and doing things the way I think we need to be doing them and the way T.R. Miller needs to do things.”
White said he is proud of seniors Brundidge and Roberts for getting T.R. Miller softball back on the right track.
“I am proud of our seniors for getting us back on track and doing things they way they should be done,” White said. “As far as my seniors, I appreciate those two sticking it out. They are huge part in what we have done and they have mentored these kids and have done a great job as leaders of these young kids and they have made some friends. They made some bonds and some other things that they may not have had if they didn’t stick it out. I am proud of them for that.”

Friday game one: TRM Lady Tigers 3, Pike County 1
T.R. Miller’s Lady Tiger softball team picked up their first ever game one win in Gulf Shores Friday as they downed Pike County 3-1.
The two teams were tied 1-1 after one inning before T.R. Miller plated two runs in the third inning to help aid them in the two-run win.
“It was a good win for us,” White said. “I was just telling the kids that we have been here for six or seven years and we have never won a game one. We would always have to fight in game two to get to play on Saturday. We are very fortunate to win game one. Pike County is a pretty gritty team. I have used the word grind a lot this year, but that was kind of a grind there for us as well. Moriah (Brundidge) and Taylor (Austin) pitched well. We left some folks on base that we should have got home to help spread the lead out a little. At this point and time though, you just want to win and we did that.”
Brundidge earned the win in the circle for T.R. Miller while Austin earned the save. Brundidge went five innings and allowed four hits, one earned run, walked five and struck out six.
Austin went two innings and allowed one hit, no runs, walked two and struck out two.
At the plate for T.R. Miller, Reiss had two hits while Bell had one RBI. Floyd had three hits and two RBIs while Douglas had two hits.

Friday game two: Geneva 10, TRM 0 (5 innings)
In their second game Friday night, Geneva pounded out seven hits and scored 10 runs to blank the Lady Tigers 10-0 in five innings. Geneva scored seven runs in the second inning to propel them to the win. The Lady Tigers made five errors in the loss.
“Geneva is a good-hitting team,” White said. “They hit the ball well. We did have some errors out in the field, but for the most part, their runs were earned. They were just hitting the ball and putting it in the gaps. When you get down here, everyone is pretty good. They are here for a reason. It was a good learning experience for us.”
Austin took the pitching loss as she went 4 1/3 innings and allowed seven hits, 10 runs, four earned, walked seven and struck out three while hitting one.
T.R. Miller had only three hits in the loss with Bell having two and Roberts having one.

Saturday: Straughn 8, TRM 3
Despite out-hitting Straughn 11-6, T.R. Miller walked 11 batters and hit one and was outscored 8-3 to see their season end Saturday.
“We hung in there today,” White said. “We hung around and we stayed in there, we just couldn’t make that play when we had to have it and we just couldn’t get that hit when we had to have it. We were in the game the whole time, it just slipped away there at the end. They could have gave up, but they didn’t and I am proud of them for that. I have used the word grind a lot, but we kind of grinded a lot today and stayed in the game there with them today. We just fell a little short.”
Straughn led T.R. Miller 4-2 after one inning and 5-3 after two innings before outscoring the Lady Tigers 3-0 the remainder of the game to get the five-run win. Straughn scored one run each in the third, fourth and fifth innings to seal the win.
Brundidge took the pitching loss as she went five innings and allowed six hits, seven runs, five earned, walked 10 and struck out four while hitting one. Austin went two innings and walked and struck out one while surrendering no runs and no hits.
At the plate for T.R. Miller, Reiss had two hits and Bell had one. Brundidge added two hits, Roberts, Ruzic, Floyd and Smith had one hit each while Douglas had two. Bell had two RBIs in the first inning while Floyd had one RBI.