gulf shores: Gulf Shores comes up short

Monday, May 22, 2006
By DEREK BELT
Sports Reporter
MONTGOMERY -- Gulf Shores softball players, coaches and supporters are feeling those familiar mixed emotions today -- pride over another awesome season, but disappointment over another near miss.

A sixth straight trip to the state tournament yielded similar results for the Lady Dolphins' softball team, as Gulf Shores fell just short of the Class 4A state title after dropping two gut-wrenching games to St. James in the championship round Saturday.

The victories awarded St. James its second straight state title, while the setbacks handed Gulf Shores its second runner-up finish in three years.

Though the Lady Dolphins have made it to state six years in a row, this was truly the first time they'd come to Lagoon Park as the odds-on favorites to bring home the Alabama High School Athletic Association's blue state championship trophy. That fact certainly made the Lady Dolphins' second-place finish and resulting red trophy even harder to accept in the delicate moments following the last loss.

Despite the heartache and the disappointment, the Lady Dolphins still held their heads high. They consoled each other and hugged their fans, they thanked seniors Kristen Lambert and Whitney Harris for everything they'd given to the program the last few years and they set the forward-looking goal of returning to Lagoon Park next year for a chance at a little unfinished business.

And while they may not have won the state title this year, the Lady Dolphins' remarkable season -- in which they went 56-12-1 and reached No. 1 in the state rankings -- will undoubtedly go down in the annals of Gulf Shores High School history. It was a stellar season and an experience no Lady Dolphin will ever forget.

"It's nothing to hang their heads about," Gulf Shores coach Karen Collins said of the second-place finish. "These kids have set some personal bests and some school bests this year. It's an awesome ball club."

For awhile, it looked like this was going to be the year. The Lady Dolphins struggled to put the bat on the ball in two games Friday and an early game on Saturday, but they somehow found a way to win and rolled into the championship round with a sparkling 3-0 record.

Needing only one win to wrap up the crown, the Lady Dolphins dueled it out with St. James for five scoreless innings. Then, in the top of the sixth, Katie Pauk launched a two-run home run over the left field fence to give the Lady Trojans a 2-0 lead. The game was far from over at that point, but Pauk's dinger clearly took a little wind out of the Lady Dolphins' sails.

And they never really got it back.