There’s going out with a bang, and then there’s what Averi Slaughter and Myleah Hardy did Friday.
In the final game of their high school softball career, the Columbia Academy duo powered their team to a dominant end to a dominant Division II-A state tournament performance.
Slaughter came up one walk shy of a perfect game, settling for a seven-strikeout, no-hit effort, while Hardy tied a state tourney record with three home runs as the Lady Bulldogs downed Donelson Christian 13-0 in five innings to claim their third title in as many Spring Fling appearances.
It was CA’s second win of the day over the Lady Wildcats, as they advanced into the championship game with a 7-0 win that included another Hardy homer. The Freed-Hardeman signee had six home runs in three tournament games, breaking the previous record of four held by four different players.
Joining Hardy in the homer-hitting club for the final game were Tori Duval and Kennedy Chatman, giving the Lady ‘Dawgs a tourney record total of five.
“That’s insane. I’m in awe. I’m shocked,” Hardy said. “But it’s not all about me. It’s my team. I’m not the only one that did anything. They’ve always kept me in a positive mindset, and I’ve kept them in a positive mindset.”
That positivity throughout the lineup and the dugout helped Columbia Academy to a 39-6 season and wins in 22 of their final 23 outings.
“I couldn’t be happier,” CA coach Seth Anderson said after his team won its second consecutive DII-A championship, to go with a Class A title in 2019. “We played the toughest schedule I’ve had. I was thinking we’d possibly have double-digit losses.
“To come out and compete – we had a strong senior class that really led the way. We had a tough stretch at the beginning of April, after we came back from Gulf Shores (Ala.) and lost two at the Brentwood tournament. But we rallied around that and ran off 18 straight.”
That win streak included a pair of victories in the DII-A Middle Region tournament over Donelson Christian (23-12), by scores of 7-1 and 4-0.
Little changed Friday.
“They’re an incredible team,” DCA coach Kristi Heath said. “They’ve got a great offense. Sometimes it’s just a matter of time before they string some hits together. Once their bats get going, it’s hard to stop them.”
That was the case in the morning matchup, as Columbia Academy led just 1-0 before a six-run sixth highlighted by Chloe Carter and M.J. Harakas doubles ahead of a Hardy three-run homer.
CA didn’t wait as long in the finale, as DCA freshman Bailey Shepard – making her third start of the day, following a 3-1 win over Lakeway Christian in the losers bracket finals – gave up five runs in the first frame on a Hardy three-run shot, an Anna Brewer base hit and a Laney Turner groundout.
“She’s thrown every game this year,” Heath said. “The more they see her, they’re going to hit the ball.
“Their bats are always going.”
Five runs were enough for Slaughter – but she got more, on Chatman’s three-run homer in the second. Then, after Shepard yielded the circle to Zoe Lawrence, Duval and Hardy had back-to-back solos to open the fourth before Hardy closed things out with another three-run blast in the fifth.
“I’m not disappointed in a 13-0 win,” Slaughter said. “But, you work so hard, and for that to be the final game – I’m proud of my team for scoring 13 runs.”
Slaughter retired the first nine batters she faced before yielding a fourth-inning leadoff walk to Jaylee Lopez. From there, though, she sat down the last six Lady Wildcats, three by strikeout.
“I’ll take a no-hitter,” Anderson said. “Averi threw fantastic. She hit her spots. She pitched with a lot of confidence with five, eight, 13 runs to play with.”
Hardy, Chatman and Duval were a combined 10-for-10 for the game, with the five homers and 11 runs batted in.
“It was in the back of my mind – we’ve played this team four times, we’ve seen this girl (Shepard) four times,” Hardy said. “We know how to adjust.
“We hit the ball really well.”
Hardy’s seven RBIs were one short of the tournament single-game record set by Baylor’s Lauren Lewis in 2013, and her three homers tied a mark set by Siegel’s Veronica Westfall in 2016.
“What she’s done the last two years – leading the state in homers last year, and getting pitched differently but still producing ridiculous numbers – she’s stayed in that ‘3’ hole for a reason,” Anderson said.
For the tournament, Hardy’s 13 RBIs were two short of the record set by Baylor’s Lewis in 2013 and matched by Meigs County’s Madison Crabtree in 2017. She matched the total posted by Lexington‘s Brooklyn Hays in 2013.
Finally, CA’s nine home runs in three tourney games were the third-most, behind Meigs County and Forrest (13 each in 2017) and ahead of East Hamilton (eight in 2013).
“I couldn’t be more proud of my team,” Hardy said. “We’re close, we’re tight. We do everything as a team.”
And with a 119-14 record over the past four years, the bar has been set.
“Columbia Academy softball is at its peak,” Slaughter said. “We’ve worked hard. We deserve this. No doubt, they’re going to be jut as successful in the years to come. I’m sure everybody on this team wants to come back and do this again. They know what it’s like and what it takes.”
Winners bracket final
Columbia Acad. 7, Donelson Chr. 0
D 000 000 0 – 0 4 0
C 001 006 x – 7 12 0
Bailey Shepard and Heather Scales. Averi Slaughter and Laney Turner. W: Slaughter. L: Shepard. HR: Columbia Acad. – Myleah Hardy.
Championship
Columbia Acad. 13, Donelson Chr. 0 (5 inn.)
C 530 23 – 13 13 0
D 000 00 – 0 0 1
Averi Slaughter and Laney Turner. Bailey Shepard, Zoe Lawrence (4) and Heather Scales. W: Slaughter. L: Shepard. HR: Columbia Acad. – Myleah Hardy 3, Kennedy Chatman, Tori Duval.
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