Hornets prepare for central regional tournament
Published 5:39 pm Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Above, Dallas County head coach Willie Moore laughs during a moment in last week’s class 5A, area 6 tournament at Demopolis High School. The Hornets will compete in Troy this week in the 5A central regional tournament, which will include eight teams and starts Friday. –Daniel Evans
The Dallas County softball team will continue its pursuit of a 5A state championship Friday in Troy at the south central regional.
The Hornets will take on Shelby County, a team they haven’t faced this season, at 1 p.m. in the first round. Head coach Willie Moore is hoping his team can bounce back quickly from two area tournament losses last week to Demopolis, who is also in the eight-team south central regional. Moore said Dallas County’s work on the practice field this week has focused on defense and trying to make the simple plays. The Hornets have struggled in two-out situations this year, and Moore has made that a focal point in getting ready for Friday’s tournament.
“We are just trying to focus on us and not trying to beat ourselves,” Moore said. “I think we can make the biggest stride in not giving up runs with two outs. This year we’ve given up more runs with two outs than any team I’ve known at Dallas County High School, but a lot of that is youth.”
Despite their youth, Moore has high hopes for his team this weekend. The top two teams qualify to move on to the state tournament next week at Lagoon Park in Montgomrey.
“Everybody you play is going to have an outstanding pitcher and most of the teams I know from my scouting report have two good pitchers. Most of them have three good pitches,” Moore said.
“We’ve got to give ourselves a chance and can’t beat ourselves.”
Dallas County may not have gotten a bad draw. Based solely on the Alabama Sports Writers Association softball rankings, the South Central regional appears to be the weakest field of the four 5A regional tournaments going on around the state.
Only Marbury, who is ranked No. 9, made the final rankings from the ASWA. Fortunately for the Hornets, Marbury sits on the opposite side of the bracket.
Other teams in the tournament include Jemison, Clay Central, Helena and Brewbaker Tech.
“We’ve got everything to gain and nothing to lose,” Moore said. “This is the first time we’ve been to a regional since we won the championship in 2011, so there is no pressure on us.”
