Blevins throws with such speed behind her pitches that she lets out a grunt almost every time she releases them. Her arm has served her well the past couple of seasons. She’s shattered a school record for career strikeouts earlier this season (she now has around 700 in two seasons). She’s also led the Lady Panthers to two straight top five finishes in Class 1A.
Had it not been for some tough-luck hitting in the Lady Panthers’ two state tournament losses to No. 1 Speake 1-0 and to No. 2 Pleasant Home 2-0, Blevins and her teammates could very well be hoisting the state championship trophy.
But nonetheless, Blevins’ performance at the state tournament was impressive to say the least.
In four games, she gave up only six runs on 18 hits with 64 strikeouts in 30 innings, but the Lady Panthers fell short of the 1A title. They finished fourth overall after being third last season.
“She gets stronger as the game goes along,” Spring Garden coach Ann Welsh said. “I see that every game and I think as the season went along she got stronger. There’s no letdown, and that’s something I’m proud of. That’s hard to ask of somebody, pitching several games in the heat, but she didn’t back down.”
Blevins said she’s driven to get back to state next season. She’s going to continue playing travel ball during the summer in hopes of helping Spring Garden earn that elusive state title.
“We’ve been so close the past couple of years,” Blevins said. “All of us are going to want to improve and want it even more.”
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It’s not that often, but sometimes the Alabama Sportswriters Association gets the polls right.
Seven of the eight teams in the Class 1A state tournament were ranked in the final ASWA softball poll of the season. The only team not ranked in the state tournament was Maplesville.
Top-ranked Speake went on to win the title over No. 3 South Lamar on Saturday.
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Switching gears to baseball, the Class 2A, Area 12 coaches have selected their all-area team.
The Sand Rock Wildcats had four selections in Justin Mackey, Jake Thompson, Andy Andrews and Cody Beck.
Westbrook Christian had the most selections on the team with five. Those selected were Jacob Mayfield, Chase Saunders, Matt Gross, Chad Sharp and Barr Miller.
West End had three selections in Dakota Coffelt, Chris Davis and Justin Fulenwider. Geraldine had a pair of selections in Colton Harris and Josh Strange.
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With summer almost upon us, that means camps can’t be too far away.
The Fort Payne Recreation Department will be hosting a baseball camp June 2-4. Coaches Johnny Johnson will conduct the camp for kids ages 8-18. The cost is $75. Each camper will receive a camp t-shirt. The camp will begin each day at 9 a.m.
The Fort Payne Recreation Department will also be hosting a basketball camp at the Wills Valley Recreation Center May 26-29. Fort Payne High School coaches Anthony Reid and Steve Sparks will be conducting the camp for both boys and girls ages 5-15. The camp begins each day at 8:30 a.m. The cost is $50 ($40 for multiple children).
A British soccer camp is also being held by the Fort Payne Recreation Department June 22-26 at the Sports Complex. Ages 3-15 are invited to participate. Four sessions are available daily. The cost is $70 for ages 3-4, $85 for ages 5-6, $108 for ages 7-14 and $150 for ages 10-15.
For more information on all camps, please call 844-6571.
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