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Columbia Academy upended in DII-A softball finals by Silverdale




Emotional members of the Columbia Academy softball team await the presentation of the Division II-A state tournament runner-up trophy following Thursday’s 2-1 loss to Silverdale in the championship game. RIC BEU / MAIN STREET MAURY

Undeniable disappointment.

With state championships in each of the last three state tournaments, Columbia Academy’s Lady Bulldogs had their sights set on yet another as they came into this week’s Division II-A softball tourney.

After bouncing back from a Wednesday winners bracket final loss to Silverdale by edging Jackson Christian in a Thursday morning elimination game, though, Columbia Academy came up short of forcing a winner-take-all clash Friday morning.

Silverdale scored a pair of runs in the third inning and it was enough for junior pitcher Ella Cunningham, who limited the Lady Bulldogs to three hits in a 2-1 title game victory Thursday afternoon.

Columbia Academy seniors Kennedy Chatman (left), Tori Duval and Chloe Carter accept the Division II-A state tournament runner-up trophy from Chuck McAlpin of the TSSAA following Thursday’s loss to Silverdale in the championship game. RIC BEU / MAIN STREET MAURY

“She’s a good pitcher. We tried our best,” CA centerfielder Chloe Carter, one of the team’s three seniors, said following the loss. “We tried to get ready for her. We expected to do better against her.”

The defeat not only ended Columbia Academy’s 31-9 campaign short of a fourth consecutive crown, it also ended the successful six-year reign of Lady Bulldogs coach Seth Anderson, who had recently informed the team he’d be stepping down to focus on his football coaching duties and his family at the conclusion of this season.

“It’s a little bittersweet right now,” he said. “These girls make it fun. They’re a great group. Walking away from this group of girls is what makes it hard.

“It’s easy to get caught up in one game, but when you look at what this senior class did from eighth grade to today, it’s pretty spectacular. I know it hurts right now, but it’s pretty remarkable what they’ve done.”

Columbia Academy coach Seth Anderson is presented the runner-up coach’s plaque by Emily Crowell of the TSSAA following the Lady Bulldogs’ loss to Silverdale in the finals of the Division II-A state tournament Thursday. RIC BEU / MAIN STREET MAURY

After winning a Class A championship in 2019, Columbia Academy followed the COVID-shortened 2020 season with DII-A titles in ‘21 and ‘22. The team’s bid for a third straight took a hit with Wednesday’s 1-0 loss to Silverdale – the 2018 DII-A champ – but remained alive following a 2-1 elimination game win against Jackson Christian.

“I told the girls (after the initial Silverdale loss), ‘let’s go win two tomorrow’,” Anderson said. “There are four good teams here, but I expected us to be playing on the last day, and we got that opportunity.”

Lila Pulley’s solo home run in the fourth inning provided the winning margin for the Lady Bulldogs, who scored in the bottom of the first when Carter reached on a one-out single ahead of a pair of Jackson Christian errors.

Lila Pulley’s home run to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning gave Columbia Academy a one-run lead against Jackson Christian, and that cushion held up in a 2-1 victory. RIC BEU / MAIN STREET MAURY

The Lady Eagles evened the score in the top of the second on a Bailey Robinson triple and a Sydney Julian sacrifice fly, but CA allowed nothing else.

“We could have won. The umpires took it out of our hands,” JCS coach Jennifer Wheeler said after her team stranded four runners in scoring position over the final four innings. “We knew it’d be a tough game, but we had all the faith in the world. I think it was tough for them, too.”

In the championship contest, Columbia Academy had few offensive opportunities and struggled to cash in on any of them. Silverdale scored on Cunningham’s bases-loaded single in the third, and didn’t allow a run until Tori Duval walked to lead off the sixth, moved up on a Kinslee Wilhelm single and scored when Pulley’s infield grounder was mishandled.

Columbia Academy’s Kinslee Wilhelm nearly collides with the fence to catch a foul pop to end the sixth inning Thursday against Silverdale. RIC BEU / MAIN STREET MAURY

“We’d get a single, then go dry for the rest of the inning,” Anderson said. “We couldn’t string them together. We put the ball in play, limited our strikeouts. We just couldn’t string hits together. Credit them. She’s a good pitcher.”

For Silverdale coach Jackie Freeland, beating the two-time defending DII-A champ for her program’s second title made it even more meaningful.

“Columbia Academy’s a great team. We knew coming in they were one of the best teams here, she said. “For our program, this is huge. We just tried to stay in our game, not make the moment too big. We fought till the end. We knew it could have gone either way.”

Columbia Academy catcher Emmy McAdams braces to make the tag on Jackson Christian’s McKinley Howard for a double play to end the sixth inning in Thursday’s elimination game. RIC BEU / MAIN STREET MAURY

Even in defeat – his last – Anderson was encouraged by his team.

“You always want to win the last game, but only one team can do that,” he said. “We were one of two left playing. The way we battled and gave ourselves a chance shows the personality of this team. We could have rolled over. We made it interesting.”

Columbia Acad. 2, Jackson Chr. 1

J 010 000 0 – 1 4 3

C 100 100 x – 2 6 2

Maggie Richardson and McKinley Arnold. Anna Brewer and Emmy McAdams. W: Brewer. L: Richardson. HR: Columbia Acad. – Lila Pulley

Silverdale 2, Columbia Acad. 1

C 000 001 0 – 1 3 3

S 002 000 x – 2 6 2

Anna Brewer and Emmy McAdams. Ella Cunningham and Gabbie Hensley. W: Cunningham. L: Brewer.