By Daniel Evans
The Selma Times-Journal

Dallas County’s Amy Persinger made big plays on offense and defense in the AHSAA’s All-Star Sports Week softball doubleheader Tuesday, helping the South split the series with the North.

Persinger made a huge impact on the first game. Early on in a scoreless game, she robbed a homerun that would’ve given the North a two-run lead.

She said that she had never robbed a homerun before, but she knew she had to make a play on the ball, especially with the game scoreless and momentum set to swing in either direction.

Later, in the fourth inning, Persinger started the scoring with a bases-loaded single.

“With there being two outs, I knew I had to bring a run in, and I was just looking for a base hit,” Persinger said.

From there, the South held on in game one for a 3-0 victory. In game two, the North won 8-4.

Monday night Persinger rolled her ankle in practice and looked iffy for the all-star game. She iced the ankle between the incident and the game multiple times, tried to stay off of it, and was cleared to play Tuesday night.

“It was a little tight, but I knew I had to push through it to play,” Persinger said. “Because, I knew it was a once in a lifetime chance.”

.In the two games, Persinger batted three times, with a single, two walks, two stolen bases, and one RBI. Along with her spectacular catch, Persinger also recorded another out at centerfield.

“I don’t know how I did that with my ankle being the way it is, but I just had to push through it,” Persinger said of her two stolen bases.

Overall, she said pushing through the ankle injury and dealing with the pain was worth the experience of playing in the all-star event.

“It was two really good teams. It was really fun,” Persinger said. “It was just two great teams having a fight.”

As far as the two-run saving catch at the fence is concerned, Persinger is usually known for hitting homeruns, but she showed she can make a play with her glove too. During school ball last season, she hit seven homeruns that went over the fence and six in field.

She continues to stay busy this offseason. Persinger plays summer softball on the Dixie Slammer’s team.

“As the season gets further into, we are getting better,” Persinger said of the Dixie Slammers. “But you can still tell we are a new team. In our last tournament, we came in first place.”

Persinger has drawn interest from Auburn University at Montgomery, but has not received a scholarship offer yet.