GULF SHORES, Ala. — During the Gulf Shores Classic, the Marshall County Tigerettes were slated against some of the top schools in the state of Alabama. While Monday afternoon proved to be a rough one for Marshall County, who dropped its three games of the day, Tuesday proved to be a big win for the Tigerettes.
“We have had the opportunity to play some amazing competition this week. Our first three games were against three Alabama powerhouses. We started with Alexandria (5A) ranked No. 1 by AHSAA, followed by Curry High School (4A) ranked No. 1 by AHSAA, and finished our third game against Fairhope (7A) ranked No. 2 by AHSAA,” Tigerette coach Amy Bonner said.
“Facing this level of competition can be very difficult, but it has also allowed us to gain some valuable insight into what we can do to continue to improve our own level of play.”

TUESDAY
In the final day of the Gulf Shores Classic, the Tigerettes’ bats exploded and Marshall County took a 13-4 win over Buffalo Island Central.
Marshall County jumped on Buffalo Island Central early and rattled off four-straight hits by Courtney Lynch, Mallory Woodward, Keniyah Taylor and Jessa Lancaster.
The Tigerettes plated the game’s first run on a RBI single before scoring the following three runs on errors in the field.
Leading 4-0, the Tigerettes plated three more runs in the inning, including two off passed balls, to bump the lead 7-0.
Marshall County went back to work in the second inning and just like the first frame, led off with the first four batters reaching base.
Mallory Woodward led off the second inning with a double to right and later scored on a passed ball.
Taylor also scored in the inning on a ground out, while Lancaster scored on a RBI single.
Marshall County went on to plate one run in the third and fourth innings, highlighted by Demiyah Blackburn’s home run in the fourth inning.
As a team, the Tigerettes hammered the Buffalo Island Central pitchers for 12 hits.
Woodward, Lancaster and Meadows-Richardson led the way with two hits apiece, with Woodward connecting for one of three doubles by the Tigerettes.
Ellie Luce and Carlee Cole also doubled in the blowout win.
Blackburn provided the biggest hit of the day with her solo shot in the fourth.
The Tigerettes split pitching duties between Haylee Hobby and Taylor Pickle, with Hobby getting the start in the pitcher’s circle.
She went two innings and gave up one unearned run on two hits, while Pickle also allowed just two hits.
Both Tigerettes recorded a strikeout in the win.
“Although we had a rocky start with our first game, we have worked hard to make adjustments at the plate and on the field and that allowed us to be in a better position to pull out a 13-4 win against Buffalo Island Central High School this (Tuesday) afternoon. Knowing that our competition level was going to be tougher this year moving into 3A, our goal has been to challenge ourselves to prepare us for our season ahead. Our experience in Gulf Shores has most definitely done that and we are looking forward to using what we have learned to be successful in the remainder of our 2022 season,” Bonner said.
Marshall County returns home on Friday and will host Page in the District 8-AAA opener at 7 p.m.

MCHS 741 1 — 13 12 5
Buffalo Island Central 011 2 — 4 4 4

MCHS: Courtney Lynch 1-for-3, Demiyah Blackman 1-for-1, Mallory Woodward 2-for-4, Kaniyah Taylor 1-for-2, Jessa Lancaster 2-for-3, Kinley Wiser 1-for-1, Carlee Cole 1-for-1, Jahna Meadows-Richardson 2-for-3, Ellie Luce 1-for-3.
2B: Cole, Luce, Woodward
HR: Blackman
WP: Hobby
LP: Hastings

MONDAY
Alexandria 19, MCHS 4
The Tigerettes’ best performance of the Monday came in their first game, but also was their most-lopsided defeat.
After a back and forth first inning, Alexandria eventually claimed a 19-4 win over Marshall County in four innings.
Alexandra tagged the Tigerettes for four runs in the top of the first inning, but Marshall County answered in swift fashion in the bottom of the frame.
Courtney Lynch and Mallory Woodward left off the inning with back-to-back doubles, with Woodward knocking in the game’s first run.
Jessa Lancaster followed on base with a one-out single to center field, bringing Kaniyah Taylor to the plate.
On a 1-2 count, Taylor slugged a three-run blast over the left field wall, tying the game at four runs apiece.
While Marshall County was able to answer Alexandria’s early outburst of offense, the Tigerettes struggled with errors through the remainder of the game and Alexandria was able to close the game on a 15-0 run to finish the tournament opener.
Lancaster went 2-for-2 with a pair of singles, while Lynch and Woodward accounted for doubles.

Alexandria 425 8 — 19 18 2
MCHS 400 0 — 4 6 5

MCHS: Courtney Lynch 1-for-3, Haylee Hobby 1-for-1, Mallory Woodward 1-for-2, Jessa Lancaster 2-for-2, Kaniyah Taylor 1-for-2.
2B: Lynch, Woodward
HR: Taylor
WP: Prickett
LP: Pickle

Fairhope 7, MCHS 0
In their second game of the Gulf Shores Classic, Marshall County fell behind Fairhope after a big first inning and never could recover in a 7-0 defeat.
Fairhope connected on five hits, including a pair of doubles and a home run as part of the monster first inning.
The Tigerettes struggled at the plate and didn’t manage a base runner until Jahna Meadows-Richardson singled to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning.

Fairhope 510 10 — 7 8 0
MCHS 000 00 — 0 1 4

MCHS: Jahna Meadows-Richardson 1-for-2.
WP: Moten
LP: Pickle

Curry 8, MCHS 0
In the nightcap of a long day of action, Marshall County never got the bats going and fell, 8-0, to Curry.
Curry plated a single run in the second and third inning, but put the game out of reach with a six-spot in teh fourth frame.
Curry connected for 12 hits against the Tigerettes, all of which were singles.
Things started well for the Tigerettes after Courtney Lynch reached via error and was followed on base by Mallory Woodward, who singled to center, but Marshall County couldn’t get the hits needed behind the two base runners and was unable to score.
Marshall County managed just one additional base runner—a walk in the second inning by Demiyah Blackman.

MCHS 000 00 — 0 1 3
Curry 011 6x — 8 12 1

MCHS: Mallory Woodward 1-for-2.
WP: Kay
LP: Hobby