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The Lowndes Academy Softball team is no doubt still celebrating after capturing the Alabama Independent School Association (AISA) Class 1A Softball Championships. 

“We are super excited,” said Lowndes Academy Athletic Director Matt Marshall. 

The Lowndes Academy softball team beat Crenshaw Christian Academy (CCA) 6-2 and 4-0 in a double header on May 6 during the final tournament play at Lagoon Park in Montgomery.

The final win in the championship was against a team that the Lady Rebels had played many times.

“We knew Saturday that we had to beat Crensaw twice,” Marshall said “We played Crenshaw seven times this year. They were in our area. We had beaten them every time except for the time that mattered. We lost to them then, but we knew we were capable of beating them twice because we had won against them four times. We were 4 and 0 during the regular season against them.” 

The Rebels defeated South Choctaw Academy 11-1 on Thursday and fell to CCA in a 0-3 loss on Friday. 

But on Saturday, Lowndes Academy came prepared to win and did. 

Marshall said winning the championship is especially exciting for the team.

“They finally got a taste of victory. We’ve gotten close in the past. Never really got to the championship game. We’ve been in the tournament every year. We are glad to see it all come together,” he said.

Marshall said the win is especially impressive because the Lady Rebels are a relatively young team, “We’ve got four seniors and one senior, and our babies after that.”

The team gave it their all this season finishing at 30-12.

How did the team prepare for the season?

 “We played the schedule,” said Marshall. “We do that every year. I always tell my teams we are not going undefeated. I don’t schedule an undefeated season. We played Macon East (3A winners) five times this year. We played Edwood Hooper (2A winners) and we were 2 and 0 against them. We play a schedule that we hope prepares us for this time of year. That’s the main thing, just going out and competing no matter who the opponent is.”

Marshall said in each game different players stepped up doing their best. Marshall noted that two of the team’s players, Haley Briggs and Ava Casey, had had some impressive play time. He said junior Briggs earned seven hits and one walk. Casey pitched all but two innings in the tournament and threw 39 strike outs and four walks.

“That’s a feat in itself,” Marshall said of Casey. “She did an outstanding job pitching. She made the other team beat us. I mean they had to put the ball in play. We didn’t give anything away. She did a great job.”

Marshall said the entire team performed well together. 

“All around we played really well. We played well on defense. We had some players get clutch hits. Each game there was somebody different who stepped up, and that’s just what it takes to win a championship,” Marshall observed.

Headmaster Barry Mohun said the entire Lowndes Academy family is excited about the win.

“I’m just so proud of all of them. They put a lot of time and effort into preparing for the games this season, and I think they really represented the school well while on the field. They are just high-quality young ladies,” Mohun said.

Four Lowndes players – Briggs, Casey, Harley Hooper, and Molly Powell were selected as AISA Softball All-Stars and played with the statewide team on May 8.