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By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Fresh off a magical run in 2021, the Thompson Warriors opened the 2022 softball season by hosting the Presidents Day Invitational Round Robin Feb. 18-19.

And much like the success of last year, with several starters back, the Warriors put together a strong stretch to finish the tournament 3-1 with wins against Brookwood, Moody and Chelsea and a loss to Gardendale.

In each of the four games, even the loss, the defense and pitching shined, as Thompson gave up two runs or less in every game.

That started in an opening win against Brookwood, as the Warriors started the season with a 6-1 victory.

Following two scoreless innings of play, the Warriors struck first with a run in the top of the third.

That seemingly woke up the bats, as they came right back an inning later and posted five in the top of the fourth, which became the difference maker.

Brookwood posted its first run of the game in the bottom of the fourth but no more, totaling just one hit in the game.

Eleanor DeBlock was a big reason for the success, picking up the win, allowing one hit and striking out five in her first start of the season. Holly Selman then finished off the strong effort in the circle, pitching the final inning.

At the plate, Ella Pate led the offense with two hits and two RBIs, while Jenna Williams and Laney Williams also had two hits and one hit, respectively.

Madison Poplin and Jenna Williams also finished with one RBI each, while Chalea Clemmons had two walks.

Thompson then came back the next morning against Moody, and the bats picked up right where they left off the night before.

The Warriors scored one in the first, five in the second and one more in the third to finish off a 7-0 shutout.

Just as impressive was the combined no-hit shutout in the circle from Clemmons and Selman. Clemmons pitched two innings and had one strikeout, while Selman pitched one inning and had a strikeout as well.

Pate continued an impressive opening weekend at the plate with two hits and two more RBIs, while Poplin and Laney Williams each added two hits. Whitney Clark posted two RBIs as well, while Laney Williams finished with one.

Following that win, however, Thompson ran into some offensive struggles for the first time.

Taking on Gardendale, the Warriors outhit the Rockets 5-1 in the game, but they failed to bring runs home.

Gardendale scored two runs in the top of the first, which put Thompson in comeback mode early.

The Warriors responded with one in the top of the second, but they never could get that tying run across the plate in a 2-1 loss.

Thompson’s pitching was still impressive with Clemmons tossing all three innings in the circle and finishing with a game-high seven strikeouts in that span.

At the plate, Pate, Poplin and Olivia Tindle all had a hit, while Poplin led the way with one RBI.

The Warriors, however, came back with an impressive final game against county foe Chelsea.

The pitching remained strong, as DeBlock grabbed a complete-game win, giving up three hits and striking out four.

At the plate, Thompson scored one in the first and four in the second to take a 5-0 lead, which was too much for Chelsea to overcome, as the Hornets totaled one in the third.

Pate again led Thompson at the plate with two hits and one RBI, while Tindle also finished with two hits. Jenna Williams added another RBI for the Warriors, who were 3-1 at the end of the tournament.