Unexpected blast helps Glenwood to third straight softball title

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Parker Slappey, a four-year starter on the Glenwood softball team, didn’t know what to think when she delivered a hit with two outs and two on in the second inning of the AISA championship game.

“I hit it and just started running, because I didn’t know that it had gone over the fence,” Slappey said. “It kind of felt unreal, because I have never hit a home run, not even close.”

The umpire signaled a homer as Slappey just held her batting helmet on as she circled the bases and was mobbed by her teammates. That three-run shot in the second gave Glenwood a 4-0 lead it never relinquished as they beat Northside Methodist, 9-1 in the AISA class AAA championship game at Lagoon Park in Montgomery.

It’s the third straight championship for the Lady Gators (44-15) and matched their three year run of 2009-2011.

“That was Parker’s first career home run in four years of starting and six total years of play at Glenwood,” Glenwood coach Dusty Perdue said. “Hope got us off to a good start with a home run (in the first) that got things rolling.

“Then McKenna (Gillespie) goes back-to-back with a solo shot after Parker, and we are up 5-0.”.

Tournament MVP Gillespie was dominant, allowing three hits, two walks and one run while striking out 14 in a complete-game effort.

At the plate, Gillespie was 3-for-4 with a homer, double, three runs scored and two RBIs.

“For McKenna and Kirsten (Reynolds), our battery, to go out as champs three years in a row with Parker, our third senior, was great,” Perdue said. “There is a reason McKenna is going to a D-I school to play softball.

“We clinched the area championship early, so it gave me a chance to rest McKenna, and it worked to perfection, first with the region tournament and next in state,” Perdue added.

Joining Gillespie on the all-tournament team were Reynolds, Gullatt and Neely Austin. Austin and Gullatt will be back next year.

The only player who solved Gillespie was her mound opponent, Bailey Dempsey, who homered in the fourth inning. She also singled in the sixth.

Gillespie’s performance in the winner’s bracket final was almost as impressive, a 3-1 win over Northside Methodist (29-15).

Gillespie homered in the third inning and Glenwood added two more runs to make it 3-0. She had a no-hitter for 6 2/3 innings before Dempsey hit a two-strike home run.

Northside defeated Lee Scott 11-1 in the loser’s bracket final to get a second crack at Glenwood.

This story was originally published May 6, 2017 at 8:44 PM with the headline "Unexpected blast helps Glenwood to third straight softball title."