The Hopkins County Ponytails qualified for Championship Wednesday in the Dixie Softball World Series Tuesday night at Coleman Park in Sulphur Springs with a thrilling 8-6 win over South Carolina.
Hopkins County Ponytails, 3-1 in the World Series, broke a 6-6 tie with two runs in the top of the sixth. When they shut down South Carolina in the bottom of the sixth, the game was theirs.
The local Ponytails now face undefeated Alabama, 5-0 in the World Series, Wednesday at 6 p.m. on Field 1. To win the Ponytails World Series, Hopkins County will have to defeat Alabama twice on Wednesday.
Alabama had to win a game and a post game protest to go into the Wednesday final undefeated. On the field, Alabama overwhelmed Tennessee, 16-2. After the game, the Tennessee coach filed a protest saying the Alabama coach had failed to announce a pitching change. A successful protest would have reversed the Alabama win on the field and sent both Tennessee and Alabama along with Hopkins County into Wednesday all with a loss apiece. Dixie officials denied the protest indicating that the protest occurred too late, after the game was over.
Also on Tuesday, the Hopkins County Angels and Debs were eliminated after close defeats. The local Angels lost to Virginia, 4-2. Virginia broke a 2-2 tie with two runs in the bottom of the third. Neither team could score after that. Virginia, 3-1, will face Alabama, 5-0, on Wednesday at 6 p.m. on Field 3. Virginia will have to defeat Alabama twice to win the Angels World Series crown. Alabama stayed unbeaten in the World Series with 5-3 win over South Carolina Tuesday.
The Hopkins County Debs were eliminated Tuesday when Tennessee won a rematch, 3-1. Hopkins County had defeated Tennessee, 5-4 Sunday night. Tennessee, 4-1 in the Debs World Series, will match up with undefeated South Carolina Wednesday night. South Carolina remained unbeaten at 4-0 with a 7-5 victory that eliminated Louisiana. Tennessee and South Carolina will play Wednesday at 6 p.m. on Field 5. Tennessee must defeat South Carolina twice to win the Debs World Series.
