By Jacob Holmes

The Troy Belles are heading to the state tournament after they beat Eufala 12-1 Tuesday night for the district championship.

The Belles came out firing on all cylinders, scoring three runs in the first inning.

Head coach Terry Garrett gave a shout-out to Lexi McLendon for being an offensive leader.

“I don’t know what she’s batting in the tournament,” he said. “But it’s got to be about 9 out of 10. She’s really led this team.”

On the defensive side, Sydni Garrett was crucial, pitching 12 strikeouts. Abbie Campbell also made several important plays at first base early in the game.

Troy kept the bats swinging in the third inning, adding another five runs to gain a comfortable 8-0 lead. Three of those runs came off a triple by Maggie Phelps. The third runner, AJ May, barely made it in. The call caused some controversy as May slid head first to beat the catcher at the plate, which is illegal in Dixie League Softball. However, the umpires talked it over and ruled that May didn’t dive, but instead tripped in for the score.

“I had a good laugh with it,” Garrett said. “She’s a hilarious person anyway. That was a good moment.”

Whether that score was legal or not didn’t make much of a difference in the course of the game though. Troy cruised on to victory from there on out. Eufala did manage to get a run on the board, but never truly threatened to come back.

The Belles didn’t lose a game in the tournament. They beat Eufala 9-1 in the first round and won a tight game against Luverne 8-6 Saturday night.

The Belles will play in the state tournament in Greenville from July 8-13.